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Technical Application Papers No.

14
Faults in LVDC microgrids with front-end
converters
Technical Application Papers

Faults in LVDC microgrids with front-end


converters
Index
Introduction................................................ 2
4 DC fault protection – The
1 Advantages of Low Voltage ABB offer.............................................. 51
DC distribution systems......... 5 4.1 Air circuit breakers.................................. 51
1.1 Sensitive electronic loads ........................ 6 4.2 Molded case circuit breakers.................. 52
1.2 Distributed generation .............................. 6 4.3 Miniature circuit breakers........................ 55
1.3 Cables and maximum
transmissible power.................................. 6 Annex A – Description of the main
power-electronic-switches..................................... 58
1.4 DC in data centers.................................... 7
1.5 Hazard of direct current vs Annex B – Switch-mode
alternating current..................................... 9 three-phase converters.......................................... 62

1.6 Elimination of synchronization................ 10 Annex C – DC fault contribution of other types of


1.7 Perspective of LVDC distribution converters............................................................... 64
systems and microgrids.......................... 10

2 System configuration.............. 11
2.1 Front-End Converter (FEC)...................... 11
2.2 System description................................. 11

3 Fault analysis................................... 15
3.1 Short circuit on DC side of the
front-end converter................................. 15
3
.2 Ground fault on DC side of the
front-end converter................................. 28
3.3 Short circuit on AC side of the
front-end converter................................. 42
3.4 Ground fault on AC side of the
front-end converter................................. 44

1
Technical Application Papers

Introduction
New scenarios in electrical distribution networks, with As a consequence, probability of DC fault is quite low,
increasing presence of distributed generation and loads and used to be neglected in many designs.
Introduction

with strict power quality requirements, include DC mi- Nevertheless, in the new scenarios described above,
crogrids with energy storage systems as a replacement extension of the DC section becomes more and more
for traditional AC systems. significant.
DC electrical distribution offers several advantages com- In some application, DC distribution even covers the
pared to AC in many applications, such as data centers, majority of plant extension (e.g. this happens in marine
marine installations and in addition in low voltage distribu- applications, in DC microgrids, and in DC data centers).
tion in the presence of distributed generation and storage. In these cases, probability of a fault in the DC section
Battery energy storage systems and distributed genera- is no longer negligible, and such faults need to be dealt
tion such as PV plants or wind microturbines, and their with by proper analysis and protection design.
related electronic converters, affect system behavior
both during normal operation and in the presence of Conventional wisdom is that converters limit currents in
faults, in different ways depending on different possible any situation, hence the fault current level is no longer
grounding schemes. a concern in circuit design. While this might indeed be
Most converter systems are actually based on double the case for some specific situations, there are others
conversion: a DC-Bus is interposed between power in which converters are not able to limit fault currents.
electronic-based subsystems. This depends on type and connection of converters, as
In such an arrangement, the DC section is typically of lim- will be shown.
ited extension and totally enclosed in a single switchgear. Some most common types of power converters are

2 Faults in LVDC microgrids with front-end converters


shown in Figure I.1. Each has defined features and ap- Figure I.1 – Most common types of power converters
plications:

Introduction
– three phase thyristor rectifier, which converts the whole
of the input waveform to one of constant polarity (posi-
tive or negative) at its output. Thyristors are commonly
used instead of diodes to create a circuit that can AC Grid M

regulate the output voltage (application example: feed


and control of DC motors – Figure I.1a);
– AC/DC IGBT converter, which is a forced commutated
three-phase converter that can be used as a rectifier
I.1a - Thyristor rectifier
or as an inverter. Electronic component commutation
(from ON to OFF position) occurs hundreds of times per
period, which guarantees performances that could not
L
be reached with thyristors, such as: current or voltage
L LVDC
may be modulated (PWM – Pulse Width Modulation) AC Grid C Migrogrid
L
producing a low harmonic contribution; the power fac-
tor may be controlled and it may follow an established
profile (application examples: HVDC light transmission,
I.1b - AC/DC IGBT converter
DC/AC converter in drives, front-end converter in LVDC
microgrids – Figure I.1b). Power reversal occurs by
means of voltage reversal in thyristor rectifiers, while L D1
forced commutated rectifiers may be used for current
reversal.
LVDC
– step up converter (boost converter), which is a DC/DC PV plant Cin D2 Cout Migrogrid
converter with an output voltage higher than its input
voltage (application example: PV plants connected to
DC systems – Figure I.1c); I.1c - Step up converter

– step down converter (buck converter), which is a DC/


DC converter with an output voltage lower than its input D2 L
voltage (application example: DC loads connected to
DC systems – Figure I.1d); LVDC
– DC/DC bidirectional converter (buck boost converter), Migrogrid Cin D1 C R
which is obtained by the combination of the previous
two converters. This configuration allows the bidirec-
tional power flow (application example: charging and I.1d - Step down converter
discharging of energy storage systems con connected
to DC systems – Figure I.1e).
L
As shown in pictures, semiconductors with freewheeling
D1 LVDC
diodes are widely employed. Purpose of such diodes ESS D2 Cout Migrogrid
is to prevent overvoltages and countervoltages when
semiconductor is swiched off. Because of the presence
of such diodes, in case of fault, different effects may I.1e - Bidirectional converter
occur, depending on type of converter and type and
location of fault.
A common situation frequently described is the con-
nection of a DC active microgrid (e.g. with PV plant or
energy storage system) to the AC grid by means of an
IGBT converter.
If a short circuit occurs on AC side, the converter is able
to limit the fault current.

Faults in LVDC microgrids with front-end converters 3


Technical Application Papers

If, on the other hand, the fault is on the DC side, fault switched, with serious problems to devices connected
current flows in the freewheeling diodes without any to the DC-Bus.
Introduction

possibility for the IGBTs to limit it, even if an IGBT block It is thus apparent that the naive statements that fault
signal is sent by the control system (Figure I.2). currents are of no concern and that protection can be
Similar situations occur in all cases in which short circuit fully implemented by converters is not generally true. A
current path can include freewheeling diodes, hence all number of realistic cases exit in which converters can't
AC/DC IGBT converter, step-up and DC/DC bidirectional limit ground- or short circuit fault current.
converters may suffer from this effect. A thorough analysis of fault conditions and dedicated
Moreover, a similar effect may take place in the case of protection devices must therefore be used to safeguard
a DC ground fault in a microgrid with the neutral point installation and operator safety.
of the MV/LV transformer grounded or DC negative pole This Technical Application Paper deals with fault analy-
grounded. Both grounding configurations are widely used sis and protection in LVDC microgrids with front-end
as they guarantee operation safety from overvoltages. converters. In particular, Chapter 1 explains the main
However, when a ground fault occurs, the front-end con- advantages of LVDC microgrids; Chapter 2 shows the
verter may not be able to limit the AC grid contribution to description of the system configurations; Chapter 3
the fault current, even if the DC generators contribution deals with the short circuit and ground fault analysis both
may be switched off by IGBT block (Figure I.3). in case they occur on DC and AC front-end converter
It must be pointed out that ground faults are far more side, highlighting the situations in which the converter
frequent than short circuits in electrical installations, cannot limit fault currents; finally, Chapter 4 presents the
hence DC ground fault are expected to become more solutions offered by ABB to protect the plants against
and more frequent as DC section of installations extend. DC fault.
Similar cases can be made for several other configura- This Technical Application Paper includese three an-
tions of converters. nexes with the description of the main power-electronic-
Thyristor rectifiers, which are immune from this issue, switches, the main converter control methods, of the
can't be applied as front-end converters in DC distri- analyzed system electrical parameters, of the DC fault
bution with distributed generation, because in case of contribution of other types of converters.
reversal of power flow, they require voltage polarity to be

Figure I.2 – DC short circuit current components in an active LVDC microgrid

V1 I1 L R Ri

V2 DC Load
I2 L R +
Rsc Eo
V3 I3 L R

Figure I.3 – DC positive pole ground fault current path in an active LVDC microgrid with the neutral point of the MV/LV transformer grounded

V1 I1 L R Ri

V2 DC Load
I2 L R +
Rg Eo
V3 I3 L R

4 Faults in LVDC microgrids with front-end converters


1 Advantages of Low Voltage DC distribution systems
At the end of the 19th century, AC started replacing voltage to the load using a DC/DC converter. SMPS can
DC in power distribution, mainly because AC was more be operated with both AC and DC without any design

1 Advantages of Low Voltage DC distribution systems


easily transformed between different voltage levels and modifications since the actual frequency range typically
transmitted over long distances. includes 47-63 Hz and DC.
These conversions allow high-voltage, low-current power With DC distribution, it is also possible to improve the
distribution that minimizes losses and enables central customer-end power quality. The main reason is that
power plants with sufficient scale to be maximally cost- inverters on the customer-side are able to maintain the
effective. voltage level at the defined values, even if the DC link
Advances in power conversion technology, including DC voltage varies, as long as the voltage is above the mini-
power rectification, however, have eroded the dominance mum value. Tolerance to voltage variation is therefore
of AC power because of conversion advantages. improved.
When AC was introduced, loads were mostly resistive. It is also possible to eliminate power outages resulting
Today, however, many loads utilize power electronics. from reconnections in the electrical power system, but
Most power-electronic loads contain a diode rectifier to this requires some energy to supply the inverter or in-
convert the supplying AC voltage to DC. This introduces verters during the loss-of-mains situation. These energy
non-sinusoidal currents into the grid, which in turn dete- storages can be directly connected to the DC link, and
riorates power quality. By using appropriate DC voltages it is possible to use a common storage for all inverters
to supply these loads, the rectifier can be removed from or a separate storage for every inverter. This also makes
the loads. This reduces energy losses and brings savings it possible for a customer to individually select the size
without lowering power quality. of the energy storage.
A low-voltage distribution network is traditionally based Considering a DC-distribution system with centralized
on a three-phase 400 V AC system. Because of the low AC/DC power conversion like in Figure 1.1, the proposed
voltage, 20/0.4 kV transformers have to be installed close AC/DC interface does not affect the utility power quality
enough to the customer to avoid too high transmission in terms of low-frequency harmonics, and it has voltage-
losses. The use of a higher AC or DC voltage in the LV dip ride-through capability.
network increases the power transmission capacity and Furthermore, the chosen topology allows bi-directional
permits longer distances. power flow, which can be of interest if the DC system
The use of a higher AC voltage level increases the trans- includes power sources, and allows easy connection of
mission capacity of an aerial or underground cable with energy storage as a countermeasure for power outages.
the same cross-section area. With DC, this capacity can
be further increased. Figure 1.1 – A DC distribution system with centralized AC/DC power
conversion
The main reason is the higher voltage level allowed, be-
AC/DC interface Residential DC grid
cause the effective value with DC voltage can be 1500
V, while it is 1000 V in AC. Besides, some other losses AC mains DC mains
Electronic
can be reduced by using DC voltage. The inductance loads
of the transmission line does not have an impact in the
steady-state condition, when the voltage drop in the Energy Variable
storage speed drive
line is smaller. With DC there is also no skin effect, so
transmission line resistance and voltage drop decrease.
Resistive
Moreover, considering the transition from AC to DC sys- loads
tems, most of the loads used today can operate equally
well with a DC supply as with an AC supply. For example, Energy
Generation storage
universal machines, which are used in household ap-
pliances such as electric mixers and vacuum cleaners,
have the same configuration as a series magnetized DC Generation

machine and work both in AC and DC. Generation


Electronic loads, which can be found in computer equip-
ment, battery chargers and lighting, work properly in the
ranges 100-240 V and 50-60 Hz, and this is accomplished
by using a switch mode power supply (SMPS). SMPS
first rectifies the voltage and then adjusts the rectified

Faults in LVDC microgrids with front-end converters 5


Technical Application Papers

1.1 Sensitive electronic loads 1.3 Cables and maximum transmissible power
1 Advantages of Low Voltage DC distribution systems

Commercial buildings, such as office buildings, often A grounded three-phase AC system requires five wires—
have a large amount of nonlinear electronic loads, such three phase conductors, one neutral, and one ground. A
as lighting, computers, monitors, and adjustable-speed DC system requires three wires—two phase conductors
drives for air conditioning. and one ground. An existing five-wire AC cable in a retrofit
Special office buildings, such as banks and data centers, DC system can be used in two different configurations.
have critical computer systems which must be operating The first is to use two wires for each pole and one for
“24-7” and must not be affected by transients and out- ground.
ages on the utility power grid. The other alternative is to use one for each pole, two
A common way to protect these loads is to install on- for neutral and one for ground, with the load connected
line uninterruptible power supplies (UPSs) and standby between one pole and neutral.
diesel-generator sets. The UPSs are used to protect the Considering the maximum transmissible power, the DC
loads from transients and short interruptions with dura- distribution solutions (distribution with 2 or 3 conductors)
tion up to approximately 0.5 h. may be compared with the traditional AC distribution, that
The losses of a UPS are in the range 5–10%. in Italy is usually made by three-phase cable lines with
The installed UPSs must also be able to handle distorted 4 conductors (3 phase conductors and the neutral with
currents from nonlinear loads, and they must therefore a smaller cross section), with a nominal voltage of 400V.
be overrated. The transmissible power for the various systems can be
If, instead, DC distribution is used, a single converter is expressed as follows:
utilized to supply the loads, and additional losses can be – traditional AC - =
reduced. Since loads are supplied with DC, the rectifiers – DC with 3 conductors - 3 = 2∙ 3∙ 3
inside the loads can be removed and the losses can be – DC with 2 conductors - 2 = 2∙ 2
lowered. where VDC3 is the voltage between the positive or nega-
tive pole and neutral conductor, while VDC2 is the voltage
between the two poles. Assuming VAC = 400 V; VDC3 =
1.2 Distributed generation 400 V; VDC2 = 800 V, for the comparison between the AC
and DC distribution, the following hypotheses are made:
The number of alternative generation sources connected – the cables, with the same section in all the examined
to the distribution system increases. Some of them, such cases, are loaded up to their thermal limit current, so
as photovoltaic and fuel cells, produce DC, and they can that IAC = IDC3 = IDC2;
easily be connected to a DC distribution system directly, – the whole load is connected at the end of the line and
or through a DC/DC converter. Microturbines generating the possible presence of DG is neglected;
high-frequency AC are also easier to connect to a DC – the power factor of the AC loads is 0.9.
system than to an AC system, where generating a syn- The comparison between the two systems, AC and DC
chronized sinusoidal AC current is required. The electric with 3 conductors, shows that in DC a power 1.28 times
power output of a wind turbine can be kept at a maximum larger than that in AC can be transported.
if the speed of the turbine is allowed to vary. If the shaft The same result is obtained in case of 2-wire DC distri-
is connected to the generator through a gearbox, the bution system.
ability to vary the speed is limited. To increase the speed The relationships between the AC and DC transmissible
range, an AC/DC/AC converter can be used, which is an powers are the following:
expensive solution. A cheaper and simpler solution is to
3 2∙ 3 2 2
connect an AC/DC converter to a DC grid. Other types of = = [1.1]
generators operating with varying speed are small hydro 3∙ ∙ 3∙ ∙
and tidal generators.
By increasing the length of the line, the DC solutions can
Using a DC distribution system makes it easier to incor-
transport an amount of electric power up to 2.2÷3.9 times
porate more local energy storage and sources, either
the one in AC. It can be concluded that with the same
standby power generation, which is used only when there
extension of the distribution network, the DC solutions
is a fault on the utility grid, or distributed generation (DG)
can supply a larger load, while with the same load, the
(small-scale energy sources) which are operated more
DC distribution systems can have a greater extension
or less continuously.
than the AC one.
To connect an energy source to a DC system only the
voltage has to be controlled.

6 Faults in LVDC microgrids with front-end converters


1.4 DC in data centers power losses, heat generation, and reductions in the
end-to-end system reliability.

1 Advantages of Low Voltage DC distribution systems


The advantage of a DC architecture is evident in the
Commercial data centers have traditionally distributed reduced number of critical system components.
AC in their facilities. Fewer components result directly in a lower installation
But all information technology (IT) equipment operates cost, a smaller footprint, and higher system reliability.
on DC power. The efficiency gains result from fewer energy conversions
Therefore, a typical data center power distribution system and enabling the use of DC server power supplies that
incorporates multiple power conversion stages from AC are more efficient at lower load levels.
to DC and from higher to lower voltages . These efficiency gains also drive reduced cooling de-
The servers and other IT devices are powered with AC mand, resulting in additional energy savings.
and immediately convert this to DC power inside their Figure 1.2 shows a modern data center with the different
power supply. The DC voltage is then converted to lower electric components supporting the racks housing the
DC voltages as required by the IT equipment. servers/routers.
The typical AC power distribution system results in five
to seven conversion steps, with each step resulting in

Figure 1.2 – Data center layout

Faults in LVDC microgrids with front-end converters 7


Technical Application Papers

Distribution in such a plant can be carried out in DC at – higher efficiency, due to minor losses in the converters
380V, with the advantages shown in Figure 1.3. and cables. In particular:
1 Advantages of Low Voltage DC distribution systems

- energy saving 28% compared to a “typical” AC


In particular, thanks to power supply at 380V DC distribu- system
tion, the following advantages can be obtained: - energy saving 7% compared to a “best in class”
– higher reliability, since there is a lower number of con- AC system
versions and less points at which failures/breakdowns – smaller overall dimensions ( 33% reduction in the
may occur, with a consequent decrease in the likelihood occupied space)
of fault occurrence – easier integration of renewable sources
– easier energy storage.

Figure 1.3 – DC distribution advantages in a data center

AC system DC system (48 Vdc)


ICT ICT
AC UPS Equipment DC UPS Equipment

AC DC AC AC DC DC CPU AC DC DC DC CPU
AC 48 Vdc
Utility Utility
Grid Grid
Battery Battery

– Reduce in voltage drop


– High efficency operation
– Wire size reduction
– High reliability
– Equipment footprint
– No phase balancing
reduction, simpler interfaces,
– No Harmonics issues
and potetially lower costs

DC system
ICT
DC UPS Equipment

AC DC DC DC CPU
380 Vdc
Utility
– Easy integration with
Grid
Battery renewable energy
resurces

8 Faults in LVDC microgrids with front-end converters


1.5 Hazard of direct current vs alternating current charges. In Figure 1.5 the curves c1, c2, and c3 refer to
the ascending current, which is more hazardous than the

1 Advantages of Low Voltage DC distribution systems


descending one, since a descending current twice the
Direct current is less dangerous than alternating cur- ascending one is necessary to start ventricular fibrillation.
rent. This according to the general principle that the Therefore, for electrical safety, in the DC systems with
human body is more sensitive to time-variable stresses grounded pole, it is advisable to connect to ground the
with respect to continuous ones (“accommodation” negative pole (Figure 1.6).
phenomenon).
The hazardous zones of the electric current according Figure 1.6 – The descending direct current is less hazardous than the
ascending one, therefore it is better to ground the negative pole of the
to the time of current flow through the human body are generator
shown in Figure 1.4 for alternating current 50Hz and in
Figure 1.5 for direct current.
Figure 1.4 – Hazard zones of alternating current (15-100 Hz)
t
(ms) + –
a b c1 c2 c3
10000 – +
5000

2000 a) b)
1000
500 Besides, the transverse path hand-to-hand is less
1 2 3 4
200 dangerous than the longitudinal path hand-to-foot,
100 independently of the direction of the direct current: to
50
start ventricular fibrillation in the hand-to-hand path the
current required is 250% of the ascending current with
20
hand-to-foot path.
10
0.1 0.5 1 5 10 50 100 500 1000 5000 I
On the whole, direct current is however less dangerous
(mA) than alternating current as it can be deduced also by the
1 usually absence of reactions up to the threshold of perception (fingers) voltage values reported in Table 1.1 and considered as
2 usually no harmful physiological effects up to the threshold of tetanization
3 generally reversible physiological effects may occur; they increase as
safe: they are higher in DC than in AC.
current intensity and time increase. They are: muscular contractions,
breathing difficulties, increase in the blood pressure, troubles in the for- Table 1.1 – Safety voltages
mation and transmission of cardiac electrical impulses, atrial fibrillation
and temporary cardiac arrest included, but without ventricular fibrillation
Direct Indirect
4 likelihood of ventricular fibrillation, cardiac arrest, breathing arrest, seri-
ous burns. Curves c2 and c3 correspond to a probability of ventricular contact contact
fibrillation of 5% and 50% respectively.
Alternating current (rms) 25V 50V
Figure 1.5 – Hazard zones of direct current
Direct current 60V 120V
t
(ms)
a b c 1 c2 c3 The DC systems at a voltage lower than 60V are to be
10000
regarded as safe if they are either SELV or PELV, namely, if
5000
they are separated from the network through an insulation
2000 transformer and by the other circuits through a double or
1000 reinforced insulation or by a shield connected to earth.
500 The limit of 60V is to be referred to the voltage between
1 2 3 4
200
the pole of the system in a two-terminal contact. In case
100
of one-terminal contacts, the hazard would depend on
50
the voltage to earth. In principle, at the same voltage
level, a ground-isolated system is less dangerous than
20
a system with one pole earthed, but it is dangerous
10
0.1 0.5 1 5 10 50 100 500 1000 5000
anyway, due to the leakage currents, which grow as the
I
(mA) DC system expands.
Direct current can flow from head to foot (descending
current) or vice versa (ascending current), considering by
convention the direction of the current that of the positive

Faults in LVDC microgrids with front-end converters 9


Technical Application Papers

1.6 Elimination of synchronization Therefore, the electric grid is conceived in AC since the
grid has been designed to support conventional loads
1 Advantages of Low Voltage DC distribution systems

Last, but not least, the elimination of synchronization is for more than a century, basically induction motors and
a significant advantage of a DC system when compared other AC appliances.
with AC. Furthermore, in order to transmit electricity with mini-
AC current sources must be carefully synchronized before mum losses, the voltage has to be increased, which
they can be connected. was previously only possible by using AC transformers.
A failure to synchronize can result in catastrophic current After one century, the contemporary residential loads
and forces, as two sources work against one another. have been changed a lot, but the electric grid practically
At best, such events result in shutdown of the power stayed intact.
system; at worst, there is significant damage to the gen- This implies that every time we plug-in one of these new
eration, distribution, and control components. loads to the grid, a conversion stage from AC to DC is
Preventing this damage requires the installation of syn- required. Besides, generation also changed from big
chronization relays and control schemes. synchronous generators in power plants to small solar
This is a straightforward task with two sources, but it can panels, fuel cells, or batteries, which are essentially DC
become complex and unstable with increasing numbers sources.
of sources. Even micro-wind or gas turbines are more efficient by
DC systems, because of their constant voltage, do not using only one converter (AC/DC) instead of two back-
exhibit this issue. Paralleling multiple sources in a DC to-back converters (AC/DC and DC/AC).
system requires no control. This will naturally lead to an emerging grid in which mi-
Thus, a DC system is uniquely suited for applications crogrids and distribution systems at homes and buildings
where multiple sources must work together. would be done in DC.
Systems that include utility power, batteries for back up, With home microgrids, now AC and in the future DC,
and variable “green” sources such as solar, wind, and electrical vehicles will be also playing an important appli-
fuel cells can be easily and reliably integrated in a DC ance role at home, given the DC onboard energy storage
architecture. systems and emerging DC charging stations.
A new scenario could be to build a hybrid DC and AC
grid at distribution levels, to couple DC sources with DC
1.7 Perspective of LVDC distribution systems
loads and AC sources with AC loads.
This hybrid structure would reduce the multiple conver-
and microgrids sions to a minimum.
Moreover, the connection of all DC loads to the DC side
With the several advantages explained in the previous of the hybrid grid would make it easy to control harmonic
sections, LVDC distribution systems and microgrids are injections into the AC side through the main converters,
becoming a good alternative, since they perform better thus guaranteeing high-quality AC in the utility grid.
in terms of efficiency, scalability and stability. Moreover, Finally, the DC grid could solve negative and zero se-
by observing the residential energy consumption pattern, quence current problems caused by unbalanced loads in
we may discover that major part of our consumption AC distribution systems, and the neutral wire in subtrans-
loads are becoming more and more DC, e.g., laptops, mission might be eliminated and the related transmission
cellphones, LED lights, displays, etc. losses reduced.
Even the conventional AC loads driven by AC motors, This revolution can be seen as a “back-to-Edison” phe-
such as washing machines, refrigerators, air conditioners, nomenon, which is already happening in high-voltage
and industrial equipment, are being gradually replaced direct current (HVDC) systems and is becoming a reality
by AC motors with inverters to control the motor speed in LV and MV distribution systems.
and save energy.

10 Faults in LVDC microgrids with front-end converters


2 System configuration
In order to carry out a deep analysis on the several In order to perform this task, the actual DC voltage Vdc is
faults that may occur in a LVDC microgrid, first of all it is compared with the reference voltage VdcREF.

2 System configuration
important to describe its configuration with the several The error signal, created by the comparison, represents
electrical devices that areconnected. the main input of the whole control system; the error
This is the topic of this Chapter, along with the descrip- signal is used to manage the ON/OFF control of the six
tion of the system arrangements regarding the ground electronic components. In this manner, the power may
connection combinations that will be considered during flow from the AC side to the DC side and vice versa,
a ground fault. depending on the DC voltage requirements.
When Idc is positive (rectifier operation mode), the Cdc
capacitor discharge occurs and the error signal requires
2.1 Front-End Converter (FEC) by means of the control block a higher power from the
AC source.
Forced commutated three-phase rectifiers are AC/DC The control block allows a power absorption from the
converters using IGBTs (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transis- AC source by creating an adequate PWM signal for the
tor), i.e. electronic components with both closing and electronic components control. In this manner, a higher
opening commands that allow the converter control current flows from the AC side to the DC side to fulfil the
depending on needs (see Annex A). higher power request of DC loads and the DC voltage is
Electronic component commutation (from ON to OFF brought back to the desired value.
position) occurs hundreds of times per period, so it On the contrary, when the Idc becomes negative (inverter
guarantees performances that otherwise could not be operation mode), the DC voltage tends to increase, so
reached with thyristors. This characteristic gives the the capacitor is overloaded and the error signal requires
following advantages: the capacitor discharge by means of the control block,
– current or voltage may be modulated (PWM – Pulse returning power to the AC source.
Width Modulation, see Annex B) producing a low har- The PWM control logic permits not only active power
monic contribution; control but also the reactive one, allowing power factor
– the power factor may be controlled and it may follow correction by means of the converter.
an established profile; Moreover, the AC current waveform may be maintained
– power reversal occurs by means of voltage reversal in almost sinusoidal, reducing the harmonic contribution.
thyristor rectifiers, while forced commutated rectifiers It is important to note that, while the IGBTs can be opened
may be used both for current reversal. and closed by the control system, the freewheeling di-
Usually, the FEC works by maintaining the DC voltage at odes cannot be controlled.
a desired reference value, using a feedback control loop,
as shown in Figure 2.1.

Figure 2.1 – Voltage Front-End Converter (FEC)


Idc

V1 I1 L

V2 I2 L
Vdc
Cdc DC Load
V3 I3 L


error + VdcREF
CONTROL BLOCK

Faults in LVDC microgrids with front-end converters 11


Technical Application Papers

2.2 System description For simulation purpose, the DC poles short circuit and the
2 System configuration

AC three-phase short circuit are respectively represented


The analyzed electric plant is composed by an AC sec- by means of the resistances Rsc and Rsc’, while DC and
tion and a LVDC microgrid fed by a front-end converter. AC ground faults by means of Rg and Rg’, sum of fault
On the AC side there are a MV/LV transformer connect- and protective ground system resistances.
ing the system to the MVAC Utility and a generic purely Figures 2.2-2.5 depict the scheme of the electrical plant
resistive passive load. analyzed with the several ground system configurations.
The analyzed LVDC microgrid includes the following In particular, the configurations in Figures 2.2-2.4 will
components: be used for DC ground faults, while the configuration in
– bidirectional FEC, which controls the DC-Bus voltage, Figure 2.5 for an AC ground fault. The configuration with
keeping it to the preset value. The converter, usually the AC exposed conductive parts connected to the same
based on PWM, exchanges sinusoidal wave currents grounding arrangement of the transformer neutral point
with the grid at the unit power factor, i.e., with no ex- will not be analyzed in this Technical Application Paper
change of reactive power; since it is the well-known usual configuration.
– Energy Storage System (ESS), which provides continu- We consider the DC negative pole grounded configura-
ity of supply to the priority loads during short power tion, not the DC positive pole, for safety reason. Without
interruptions, connected to the DC-Bus by a DC/DC a galvanic isolation transformer, it is not possible to have
bidirectional converter; both the transformer neutral point and the DC negative
– PhotoVoltaic (PV) plant, connected to the DC-Bus by pole grounded, since it would create a permanent short
a DC/DC step-up converter; circuit fault through ground that would prevent the system
– DC load that can be considered as a purely resistive normal operation.
passive element. The fictitious switches Sx in Figures 2.2-2.5 show the
Moreover, on the AC side an AC three-phase load is connection possibilities of the exposed conductive parts
installed, working at cosᵠ =1. to a protective grounding system that can be distinct from
The generic passive DC load is represented by means of the operational grounding or the same.
a resistance RL, the parasitic capacitances by means of
the concentrated capacitances Cp, the ESS by means
of a voltage DC generator (Eo, Ri), whereas the PV plant
is modeled by means of a controlled current source
(IPV = P/Vdc with a maximum short circuit equal to 1.25
1
A standard set of reference conditions used for the testing and rating of photovoltaic
times the short circuit current ISC STC under standard cells and modules. The standard test conditions are:
conditions1, according to the Standard IEC 60364-7-712 a) PV cell temperature of 25 °C;
b) irradiance in the plane of the PV cell or module of 1000 W/m2;
[15]). c) light spectrum corresponding to an atmospheric air mass of 1.5.

Figure 2.2 –Microgrid scheme with MV/LV transformer neutral point grounded for DC ground fault analysis

Iconvdc1
Idc Idc1
V1 Iac1
I1 Lc Rc Cdc
AC/DC Rdc Isc
MVAC V2 I2 Lc Rc Isc’ Iac2 Incoming Icap
Front-End Vpole+
Utility filter M Vdc
V3 I3 Lc Rc Iac3 Converter Cdc
Rdc
N

Vpole-
Iconvdc2 Ig RI
Vconv

AC load RL E0 + PPV/Vdc
DC load Energy PV plant
storage
Ig system
S1 PE

S2

12 Faults in LVDC microgrids with front-end converters


Figure 2.3 –Microgrid scheme with DC negative pole grounded for DC ground fault analysis

2 System configuration
Iconvdc1
Idc Idc1
V1 Iac1
I1 Lc Rc Cdc
AC/DC Rdc Isc
MVAC V2 I2 Lc Rc Isc’ Iac2 Incoming Icap
Front-End Vpole+
Utility filter M Vdc
V3 I3 Lc Rc Iac3 Converter Cdc
Rdc

Vpole-
Iconvdc2 Ig RI
Vconv

AC load RL E0 + PPV/Vdc
DC load Energy PV plant
storage
Ig system
S1 PE

S2

Figure 2.4 –Microgrid scheme with DC mid-point grounded for DC ground fault analysis

Iconvdc1
Idc Idc1
V1 Iac1
I1 Lc Rc Cdc
AC/DC Rdc Isc
MVAC V2 I2 Lc Rc Isc’ Iac2 Incoming Icap
Front-End Vpole+
Utility filter M Vdc
V3 I3 Lc Rc Iac3 Converter Cdc
Rdc

Vpole-
Iconvdc2 Ig RI
Vconv

AC load RL E0 + PPV/Vdc
DC load Energy PV plant
storage
S1 Ig system
PE

S2

Faults in LVDC microgrids with front-end converters 13


Technical Application Papers

Figure 2.5 –Microgrid scheme with DC negative pole grounded for AC ground fault analysis
2 System configuration

Iconvdc1
Idc Idc1
V1 Iac1
I1 Lc Rc Cdc
AC/DC Rdc Isc
MVAC V2 I2 Lc Rc Isc’ Iac2 Incoming Icap
Front-End Vpole+
Utility filter M Vdc
V3 I3 Lc Rc Iac3 Converter Cdc
Rdc

Vpole-
Iconvdc2 RI
Ig’ Vconv
+
RL E0 PPV/Vdc
AC load
Ig’ DC load Energy PV plant
storage
S1 system
PE

S2

Table 2.1 summarizes electrical plant data.

Table 2.1 – Plant characteristic data

MV Utility nominal voltage U1n 20 kV


Rated frequency 50 Hz
Utility short-circuit power Ssc (Rsc=0.1Zsc, Xsc=0.995Zsc) 500 MVA
MV/LV transformer nominal power Sn 200 kVA
LVAC nominal voltage U2n 400 V
Vsc% 4%
Psc% 2.5%
LVAC cable resistance Rc 85 mΩ
LVAC cable inductance Lc 100 μH
LVAC Load nominal power Pn (cosᵠ=1) 50 kW
Incoming filter inductance (V=6% absorbed voltage) Lf 300 μH
FEC nominal power PnFEC (cosᵠ=1) 100 kW
Switching frequency fsw 10 kHz
DC nominal voltage Vdcn 800 V
DC link resistance Rdc 1000 Ω
DC link capacitance Cdc 15 mF
DC Load resistance RL (PnL = 90kW) 7.1 Ω
ESS no-load voltage Eo 803 V
ESS internal resistance Ri 200 mΩ
PV plant short circuit current IPVmax (PPV = 50 kW) 78 A
Total resistance R 110 mΩ
Total inductance L 500 μH

14 Faults in LVDC microgrids with front-end converters


3 Fault analysis
In the Chapter the LVDC microgrid behavior is analyzed in inside the FEC control to preserve the electronic com-
presence of either DC or AC fault (both short circuit and ponents, the FEC control itself is able to maintain the Vdc

3 Fault analysis
ground fault) in order to highlight the trends of voltage voltage at the nominal value.
and currents quantities in the several parts of the electri- As a consequence, the FEC fault contribution is close to
cal plant and in the FEC electronic components; since the nominal current value of the FEC itself.
there are situations in which the FEC is not able to control With an Rsc = 100 Ω, as a result of the short circuit that
and limit the fault currents, such currents will have to be occurs at t = 0.5s, we may note how the Vdc voltage is
detected and interrupted by means of protection devices. brought back to the nominal value by the FEC control
On the DC side, we’ll consider in detail the conditions of (Figure 3.1) and how the presence of the fault causes an
DC poles short circuit and ground fault of one pole in the increase of the AC current absorbed Iac1 (Figure 3.2) and
several grounding configurations explained in Chapter consequently of the DC current supplied Idc (Figure 3.3);
2. In particular, the theoretical fault contribution of the however, both Iac1 and Idc remain lower than their respec-
ESS and PV plant and the repercussions on the FEC tive nominal currents, i.e. Iacn = 144A (and cosᵠ = 1) e
will be analyzed. Idcn = 125A.
On the AC side, we’ll consider the fault contribution sup-
plied by the LVDC microgrid through the FEC during a Figure 3.1 – Trend of Vdc voltage during a short circuit on DC side
in Case 1a
three-phase short circuit and single-phase ground fault
conditions, in case of the neutral point of the transformer 900

isolated from the ground and the DC negative pole di- 850

rectly connected to the ground and in presence of both 800

the ESS and PV plant.


Vconv [V]

750

700

650

600

550

3.1 Short circuit on DC side of the front-end 500


0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
converter t [s]

Figure 3.2 – Trend of Iac1 current during a short circuit on DC side


in Case 1a
3.1.1 Behavior without ESS and PV plant 250
The short circuit on DC side, independently from ground- 200

ing configurations, may be considered as an additional 150

load with low resistance. 100

This fault typology doesn’t cause currents toward ground, 50


Iac1 [A]

0
so the FEC operation will be free from effects due to the
-50
circulation of a zero-sequence current in its electronic
-100
components. It is assumed that the short circuit occurs
-150
immediately downstream the FEC DC terminals at the
-200
DC-Bus beginning point, which is the worst case as usual -250
considered in short circuit calculations. With decreas- 0.4 0.45 0.5 0.55
t [s]
0.6 0.65

ing values of fault resistance Rsc, different effects occur


Figure 3.3 – Trend of Idc current during a short circuit on DC side
as described as follows. We first neglect the presence in Case 1a
of IGBT self-protection based on detection of VCEsat,
150
(DESAT protection) which is normally implemented by
140
converters sold on the market and blocks IGBTs. Such 130
hypothesis allows current analysis in electronic compo- 120
nents without self-protection: they may be used in future 110
Idc [A]

architectures of FECs, relying on innovative external 100

devices for fault protection. 90


80
70
Case 1a 60
If the fault resistance Rsc has a value such that the AC 50
0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
current absorbed is lower than the maximum value set t [s]

Faults in LVDC microgrids with front-end converters 15


Technical Application Papers

The FEC control remains in linear modulation and, with Figure 3.7 – Zoom of the current in electronic component of the first leg of
the cathodic star during a short circuit on DC side in Case 1a
reference to the conventional current paths of Figure 3.4,
3 Fault analysis

250
the electronic components are still PWM controlled; in
particular, the current in the electronic components of 200
the first leg of catodic star Isw1 and of the anodic star Isw2
150
(positive current through the IGBT, negative one trough
the freewheeling diode) are respectively shown in Figures

Isw1 [A]
100
3.5-3.6. Instead the zooms of such currents are depicted
in Figures 3.7-3.8 so as to highlight the PWM control. 50

0
Figure 3.4 – Conventional currents direction into the FEC electronic com-
ponents
-50
0.65 0.651 0.652 0.653 0.654 0.655 0.656 0.657 0.658 0.659 0.66
Isw1 Isw3 Isw5 t [s]
V1 L Isc Figure 3.8 – Zoom of the current in electronic component of the first leg
I1 R Iac1
anodic star during a short circuit on DC side in Case 1a
V2 I2 L R Iac2
Rsc DC Load 50

V3 I3 L R Iac3
0
Isw2 Isw4 Isw6
Isw2 [A]

-50

-100

-150

Figure 3.5 – Trend of the current in the electronic component of the first
leg of the cathodic star during a short circuit on DC side in Case 1a -200

250 -250
200 0.65 0.651 0.652 0.653 0.654 0.655 0.656 0.657 0.658 0.659 0.66
t [s]
150
100 The short circuit current Isc may be calculated by the ratio
50 Vdc/Rsc = 800/100 = 8 A (Figure 3.9): it is a low current that
Isw1 [A]

0 cannot be detected by the usual overcurrent protection


-50 systems, but it may create arcing and fire hazard.
-100
-150
-200
-250 Figure 3.9 – Trend of Isc current during a short circuit on DC side
0.3 0.5 0.55 0.6 0.65 0.7 in Case 1a
t [s]
10
Figure 3.6 – Trend of the current in the electronic component of the first 9
leg of the anodic star during a short circuit on DC side in Case 1a
8
250 7
200
6
Isc [A]

150
5
100
4
50
Isw2 [A]

3
0
2
-50
1
-100
0
-150 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
t [s]
-200
-250
0.3 0.5 0.55 0.6 0.65 0.7
t [s]

16 Faults in LVDC microgrids with front-end converters


Figure 3.11 – Trend of Iac1 current during a short circuit on DC
Case 2a side in Case 2a
If the Rsc values are lower than in previous case, the

3 Fault analysis
250
converter control system limits the current absorbed 200
from the AC side to a preset maximum value; hence, 150
active power transferred to DC side is limited as well: as 100
a consequence, Vdc cannot be maintained to its rated 50

Iac1 [A]
value, but decreases with decreasing values of Rsc. 0
With Rsc = 30 Ω, as we can see in Figure 3.10 in steady- -50

state condition, the Vdc (774V) is adjusted by the FEC -100

control at a value such that the transferred power to the -150

DC side corresponds to the maximum current that can be -200


-250
absorbed on the AC side without creating any problem 0.4 0.45 0.5 0.55 0.6 0.65
t [s]
to the electronic components (Figure 3.11). Indeed, the
AC power absorbed is equal to (cosᵠ=1): Figure 3.12 – Trend of Isc current during a short circuit on DC
side in Case 2a
3∙ 1 ∙ 3∙230∙209.5
= 50
∙ sin = 0.16
∙ sin( 6.3°)=106.6 [3.1] 30

25
where Vconv50Hz is the rms-value of the fundamental frequency
component of the phase to ground incoming FEC voltage 20
waveform shown in Figure 3.13. As we can see from (3.1),
Isc [A]

Vconv50Hz value is lower than the AC grid phase to ground 15

voltage V1 and in addition Vconv50Hz is phase-delayed by 6.3° 10


respect to V1 (Figure 3.13) in order to allow an active power
absorption from the AC grid like in a synchronous motor. 5

The (3.1) corresponds, apart of the FEC internal power


0
losses, to the power transferred to the DC side: 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
t [s]
2 2
774 2 774 2
= + = + = 104 [3.2]
7.1 30
Figure 3.13 – Phase shift between V1 e Vconv during a short circuit on DC
side in Case 2a

600

400

200
V1, Vconv [V]

Figure 3.10 – Trend of Vdc voltage during a short circuit on DC side


in Case 2a 0

900
-200
850

800 -400
Vdc [V]

750 -600
0.6 0.61 0.62 0.63 0.64 0.65 0.66 0.67 0.68 0.69 0.7
700 t [s]
650

600

550

500
0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
t [s]

Faults in LVDC microgrids with front-end converters 17


Technical Application Papers

The FEC control system works correctly in linear modu- In the system analyzed, since V1 = 230V, the minimum
lation (Figure 3.14) and also the trend of the phase- linear modulation voltage is equal to Vdc1 = 650V. With
3 Fault analysis

to-ground voltage at AC converter terminals remains Rsc = 5 Ω, the DC-Bus voltage becomes Vdc ≈ 550 V < Vdc1
unchanged (Figure 3.15). (Figure 3.16), so the FEC works in over-modulation
(Figure 3.18).

Figure 3.14 – PWM Control linear modulation during a short circuit on DC Figure 3.16 – Trend of Vdc voltage during a short circuit on DC
side in Case 2a side in Case 3a
1 900

0.8 800

0.6 700

0.4 600

Vdc [V]
0.2 500
PWM Control

0 400

-0.2 300

-0.4 200

-0.6 100

-0.8 0
0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
-1 t [s]
0.98 0.982 0.984 0.986 0.988 0.99 0.992 0.994 0.996 0.998 1
t [s]
Figure 3.17 – Trend of Isc current during a short circuit on DC
side in Case 3a
200
Figure 3.15 – Trend of phase-to-ground voltage at AC front-end converter
terminals during a short circuit on DC side in Case 2a 180

600 160
140

400 120
100
Isc [A]

200 80
60
Vconv [V]

0 40
20

-200 0
0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
t [s]
-400

Figure 3.18 – PWM Control over-modulation during a short circuit on DC


-600 side in Case 3a
0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
1.5
t [s]

Case 3a 0.5
For lower values of R sc , V dc becomes lower than
Vdc1= 2 ∙ √2 ∙ V1 (where V1 is the rms value of line to neutral 0
PWM Control

voltage on the AC side), is and the converter works in


over-modulation. -0.5
For an increasing fraction of time with decreasing Rsc,
the electronic components are no longer PWM controlled -1
and the FEC absorbs low frequency current harmonics: in
this situation, the current is no longer limited, and it may -1.5
exceed the limit value preset for switching components. 0.98 0.982 0.984 0.986 0.988 0.99 0.992 0.994 0.996 0.998 1
t [s]

18 Faults in LVDC microgrids with front-end converters


As we can see in Figures 3.19-3.20, with a fault at t = Case 4a
0.5s, no-PWM control intervals appear in the electronic For even lower values of Rsc, DC voltage Vdc reaches the

3 Fault analysis
component currents when the linear modulation bound- value Vdc2 = 1.35 ∙ √3 ∙ V1, corresponding to that generated
ary is reached. by the diode rectifier: with decreasing Rsc, the converter
This causes an AC current distortion (Figure 3.21): the works for longer and longer fractions of time in an irregu-
lower is Rsc, the higher is the distortion level. lar way, i.e., bypassing the controlled semiconductors
(fault current flows in freewheeling diodes).
Figure 3.19 – Trend of the current in the electronic component of the first In the case studied, since V1 = 230V, the working bound-
leg of the cathodic star during a short circuit on DC side in Case 3a
ary voltage as diode rectifier is equal to Vdc2 ≈ 540V.
250 With R sc = 0.5 Ω, the DC-Bus voltage becomes
200 Vdc ≈ 340 V < Vdc2 and it shows the typical trend of a
150 rectified voltage of a diode bridge (Figure 3.22).
100
Figure 3.22 – Trend of Vdc voltage during a short circuit on DC
50 side in Case 4a
Isw1 [A]

0 900

-50 800
-100
700
-150
600
-200
500
-250
Vdc [V]

0.4 0.45 0.5 0.55 0.6 0.65


400
t [s]
300
Figure 3.20 – Trend of the current in the electronic component of the first
leg of the anodic star during a short circuit on DC side in Case 3a 200

250 100

200 0
0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
150 t [s]

100 The AC absorbed current (Figure 3.23), is no longer lim-


50 ited by the IGBTs control and then becomes so large that
Isw2 [A]

0 the semiconductor integrity may be prejudiced. Unlike


-50 the load current absorbed before the fault, where the low
-100 harmonic distortion is mainly due to harmonics at switch-
-150 ing frequency and multiples of it, there is an increase of
-200
the harmonic distortion at low frequency during the fault
-250 (mainly the fifth, seventh and eleventh harmonic).
0.4 0.45 0.5 0.55 0.6 0.65 Moreover, as shown in Figure 3.23, there is not DC
t [s]
component, which demonstrates that a DC short circuit
Figure 3.21 – Trend of Iac1 current during a short circuit on DC
side in Case 3a
is “seen” by the FEC like an additional load with low
300
resistance.
Figure 3.23 – Trend of Iac1 current during a short circuit on DC
200
side in Case 4a
1000

800
100
600
Iac1 [A]

0 400

200
Iac1 [A]

-100 0

-200
-200
-400

-600
-300
0.4 0.45 0.5 0.55 0.6 0.65 -800
t [s]
-1000
0.4 0.45 0.5 0.55 0.6 0.65
t [s]

Faults in LVDC microgrids with front-end converters 19


Technical Application Papers

Even the steady state component of short circuit current Figure 3.26 – Trend of the current in the electronic component during a
short circuit on DC side in Case 4a
Isc (Figure 3.24) becomes considerably higher than the
3 Fault analysis

FEC nominal current Idcn, since it is not limited by the FEC. 3.26a - Current Isw1

Besides, there is a big transient component due to the 600

DC capacitors discharge (Figures 3.24-3.25). 400

200
Figure 3.24 – Trend of Isc current during a short circuit on DC

Isw1 [A]
side in Case 4a
0
1800
-200
1600
-400
1400
-600
1200
-800
1000
-1000
Vdc [V]

0.9 0.91 0.92 0.93 0.94 0.95 0.96 0.97 0.98 0.99 1
800
t [s]
600 3.26b - Current Isw2

400 600

200 400

0 200
0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
Isw2 [A]

-200
Figure 3.25 – Isc current components during a short circuit on DC side
-400

-600
V1 I1 L R -800
Rsc
V2 I2 L R -1000
DC Load 0.9 0.91 0.92 0.93 0.94 0.95 0.96 0.97 0.98 0.99 1
V3 L R t [s]
I3
3.26c - Current Isw3
600

400

200
Isw3 [A]

0
Under this operation condition there are always a diode
-200
of the cathodic star and one of the anodic star in the
conduction state, as it can be seen in Figures 3.26a-f. -400

As a consequence, the fault current would pass trough -600


the FEC even if the IGBT command signals were switched -800
off. Furthermore, Figures 3.26a-f show that a minimum
-1000
PWM control still remains as long as the modulating wave 0.9 0.91 0.92 0.93 0.94 0.95 0.96 0.97 0.98 0.99 1
is instant by instant lower than the carrier one in the con- t [s]

trol algorithm (even though in over-modulation situation). 3.26d - Current Isw4


600

400

200
Isw4 [A]

-200

-400

-600

-800

-1000
0.9 0.91 0.92 0.93 0.94 0.95 0.96 0.97 0.98 0.99 1
t [s]

20 Faults in LVDC microgrids with front-end converters


3.26e - Current Isw5 Figure 3.28 – Trend of the current in the electronic component of the first
leg of the anodic star during a short circuit on DC side in Case 4a

3 Fault analysis
600
600
400
400
200
Isw5 [A]

200
0

Isw2 [A]
-200 0

-400 -200

-600 -400

-800
-600
-1000
0.9 0.91 0.92 0.93 0.94 0.95 0.96 0.97 0.98 0.99 1 -800
t [s]
3.26f - Current Isw6 -1000
0.4 0.45 0.5 0.55 0.6 0.65
t [s]
600

400 Figure 3.29 depicts the trend of the phase-to-ground


200 voltage at AC front-end converter terminals: such trend
involves the generation of low-frequencies voltage har-
Isw6 [A]

0
monics.
-200

-400 Figure 3.29 – Trend of phase-to-ground voltage at AC front-end converter


terminals during a short circuit on DC side in Case 4a
-600
600
-800

-1000 400
0.9 0.91 0.92 0.93 0.94 0.95 0.96 0.97 0.98 0.99 1
t [s]
200
Before the fault, the current conduction inside every fun-
Vconv [V]

damental component period is divided equally between 0


the IGBT and the correspondent freewheeling diode; on
the contrary, after the fault, the conduction is strongly -200

unbalanced towards both diodes of the cathodic and


anodic star (Figures 3.27-3.28). -400

-600
Figure 3.27 – Trend of the current in the electronic component of the first
0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
leg of the cathodic star during a short circuit on DC side in Case 4a
t [s]
600

400

200
Isw1 [A]

-200

-400

-600

-800

-1000
0.4 0.45 0.5 0.55 0.6 0.65
t [s]

Faults in LVDC microgrids with front-end converters 21


Technical Application Papers

Case 5a Figure 3.31a – Trend of the current Iconvdc1 during a short circuit on DC side
in Case 5a
In the limit condition of zero fault resistance, the con-
3 Fault analysis

verter behaves like a diode rectifier in short circuit con- 2000

dition: fault current is only limited by the impedances of 1800


upstream network, MV/LV transformer, wirings, by the 1600
reactance of the incoming filter, and by the diode voltage 1400
drops. Resulting values of the fault current would likely 1200
bring to the breaking of the electronic components.
1000
Considering Rsc = 1mΩ, as it can be seen in Figures

Iconvdc1 [A]
3.30a-b, the fault current Isc reaches considerable val- 800

ues, both in terms of DC capacitors’ discharge peak and 600

in terms of steady-state value, which is 10 times (more 400


or less 1200A) the FEC nominal current on the DC side, 200
without any possible limitation by the FEC control. 0
Moreover, if two or more MV/LV transformers were in- -200
stalled and in parallel and/or the connection cable size 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
t [s]
increased, the upstream AC grid equivalent impedance
Figure 3.31b – Trend of the current Iconvdc2 during a short circuit on DC side
would decrease: as a result, the short circuit current in Case 5a
would further increase. 200

Figure 3.30a – Trend of fault current Isc during a short circuit on DC side 0
in Case 5a (Cdc discharge component)
-200
x105
4
-400
Iconvdc2 [A]

3.5 -600
3 -800
2.5 -1000
Isc [A]

2 -1200

1.5 -1400

1 -1200

0.5 -1800

0 -2000
0.4995 0.4996 0.4997 0.4998 0.4999 0.5 0.5001 0.5002 0.5003 0.5004 0.5005 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
t [s] t [s]

Figure 3.30b – Trend of fault current Isc during a short circuit on DC side Figure 3.32 – Trend of Iac1 current during a short circuit on DC side
in Case 5a (steady state component) in Case 5a

2000 1500

1800
1000
1600
1400
500
1200
Iac [A]

1000 0
Isc [A]

800
-500
600

400
-1000
200
0 -1500
0.5 0.52 0.54 0.56 0.58 0.6 0.4 0.45 0.5 0.55 0.6 0.65
t [s] t [s]

Even with Rsc = 1 mΩ, the DC FEC terminal currents still Even if we were considered the DESAT protection, it
remain equal to each other (Figures 3.31a-b) and they would be ineffective because the diode connected in anti-
respectively flow out of the upper terminal (Iconvdc1) and parallel to the IGBT makes the FEC works as three phase
into the lower terminal (Iconvdc2) as a further confirmation diode rectifier bypassing any possible control on IGBTs.
that the short circuit is seen like a low resistance load
in parallel.

22 Faults in LVDC microgrids with front-end converters


To sum up, Figure 3.33 depicts the DC short circuit cur- value of 800V.
rent values Isc as a function of the fault resistance Rsc. Moreover, since Iac1 is lower than in Case 1a (Figure 3.36),

3 Fault analysis
As we can see, with the decrease of Rsc, the short circuit the ESS allows the FEC to reach its maximum AC current
current may reach values up to 10 times the FEC nominal absorption for lower Rsc values. This is better from the
current on the DC side Idcn, As a result, protective devices electronic component current point of view.
are required.
Figure 3.34 – Trend of Vdc voltage during a short circuit on DC side
in Case 1b
Figure 3.33 - DC short circuit current values Isc as a function of the fault
resistance Rsc (FEC contribution, Idcn = 125 A) 900

1400
850

1200 800

1000 750 820


Vdc [V]
800 700 810
Isc [A]

600 650 800

600
400 790

550
200 780
02 03 04 05
500
0 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
t [s]
100 10 1 0.1 0.01 0.001
Rsc [Ω]
Figure 3.35 – Trend of Isc current during a short circuit on DC side
in Case 1b
3.1.2 Behavior with ESS 10
The same cases of the previous section will be analyzed 9
hereunder in order to see what changes during a short 8
circuit adding the ESS, which is inserted in parallel to the 7
DC-Bus at t = 0.25s, while the fault still occurs at t = 0.5s2. 6

5
Isc [A]

Case 1b 4
For Rsc values such that the FEC is able to maintain the Vdc 3
at the nominal value Vdcn, the fault current Isc = Vdcn/Rsc 2
remains at the same value of Case 1a. 1
Therefore, the presence of the ESS does not contribute 0
to increase the short circuit current. 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
t [s]
Nevertheless, since the power amounts delivered to the
load RL and to the fault Rsc are now shared between the
Figure 3.36 – Trend of Iac1 current during a short circuit on DC
FEC and the ESS, the current absorbed from the grid side in Case 1b
Iac1 decreases. 250

200
Since Vdc remains at its nominal value of 800V (Figure
150
3.34), assuming Rsc = 100Ω, the fault current Isc is still
100
8A like in Case 1a (Figure 3.35).
50
The ESS connection causes a transient DC-Bus voltage
Iac [A]

increase over the nominal value (Figure 3.34), but the 0

FEC control intervenes to bring back the Vdc to the set -50

-100

2
See Annex B for the behavior in fault condition of the DC/DC converter that interfaces -150
the ESS with the DC-Bus. In particular, the converter parallel capacitance can be added
-200
to Cdc series in order to have the total capacitance contribution.
-250
0.4 0.45 0.5 0.55 0.6 0.65
t [s]

Faults in LVDC microgrids with front-end converters 23


Technical Application Papers

Figure 3.39 – Trend of Isc current during a short circuit on DC side


Case 2b in Case 2b
Unlike in Case 2a, assuming Rsc = 30 Ω, Vdc is now main-
3 Fault analysis

30
tained at its nominal value thanks to the ESS (Figure 3.37).
As a consequence, the Iac1 no longer has to be limited by 25

the FEC control at the maximum value of 240A.


20
In particular, Iac1 has a lower value (Figure 3.38) because
now a portion of the load and fault power amounts are 15

Isc [A]
supplied by the ESS.
Indeed, the fault current has an higher value compared 10

to the Case 2a due to the ESS contribution (Figure 3.39):


5
800
= = 30
≈ 27 (Case 2b) [3.3] 0
0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
t [s]
774
= = 30
≈ 26 (Case 2a) [3.4] The FEC still has a behavior like in the Case 2a, but for
lower Rsc values.
Figure 3.37 – Trend of Vdc voltage during a short circuit on DC Case 3b
side in Case 2b Assuming Rsc = 5 Ω, the DC-Bus voltage becomes now
900 Vdc ≈ 777 V > Vdc1, which is higher than one of the Case
850
3a (Figure 3.40).
In particular, since Vdc is higher than Vdc1, the FEC still
800 works in linear modulation condition (Figure 3.41), so
750
the electronic component current is still regularly PWM
controlled (Figure 3.42-3.43).
Vdc [V]

ESS insertion Fault


700 Moreover, since the Vdc is higher, the fault current Isc
increases (Figure 3.44).
650
Figure 3.40 – Trend of Vdc voltage during a short circuit on DC side
600 in Case 3b
900
550
800
500
0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1 700
t [s] 600
Fault
Figure 3.38 – Trend of Iac1 current during a short circuit on DC 500
side in Case 2b
Vdc [V]

400
250
300
200
200
150
100
100
0
50 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
Iac1 [A]

t [s]
0
Figure 3.41 – PWM Control linear modulation during a short circuit on DC
-50 side in Case 3b
-100 1

0.8
-150
0.6
-200

-250 0.4
0.4 0.45 0.5 0.55 0.6 0.65
t [s] 0.2
PWM Control

-0.2

-0.4

-0.6

-0.8
-1
0.98 0.982 0.984 0.986 0.988 0.99 0.992 0.994 0.996 0.998 1
t [s]

24 Faults in LVDC microgrids with front-end converters


Figure 3.42 – Trend of the current in the electronic component of the first
leg of the cathodic star during a short circuit on DC side in Case 3b
Case 4b
Assuming Rsc = 0.5 Ω, the DC-Bus voltage becomes Vdc

3 Fault analysis
250
≈ 587 V > Vdc2 (Figure 3.45), so the FEC works in over-
200
modulation, but not as a diode rectifier yet.
150
As a consequence, the PWM control is not completely
100 by-passed (Figure 3.46-3.47).
50
Figure 3.45 – Trend of Vdc voltage during a short circuit on DC side
Isw1 [A]

0 in Case 4b
900
-50
800
-100
700
-150
600
-200
500
Vdc [V]
-250
0.4 0.45 0.5 0.55 0.6 0.65 0.7 400
t [s]
300

Figure 3.43 – Trend of the current in the electronic component of the first 200
leg of the anodic star during a short circuit on DC side in Case 3b
100
250
0
200 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
t [s]
150
Figure 3.46 – Trend of the current in the electronic component of the first
100
leg of the cathodic star during a short circuit on DC side in Case 4b
50 250
Isw2 [A]

0 200

-50 150

-100 100

-150 50
Isw1 [A]

-200 0

-250 -50
0.4 0.45 0.5 0.55 0.6 0.65 0.7
t [s] -100

-150

-200
Figure 3.44 – Trend of Isc current during a short circuit on DC side
in Case 3b -250
0.4 0.45 0.5 0.55 0.6 0.65 0.7
180 t [s]
160

140 Figure 3.47 – Trend of the current in the electronic component of the first
leg of the anodic star during a short circuit on DC side in Case 4b
120
250
100
200
Isc [A]

80
150
60
100
40
50
20
Isw2 [A]

0
0
0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
-50
t [s]
-100

-150

-200

-250
0.4 0.45 0.5 0.55 0.6 0.65 0.7
t [s]

Faults in LVDC microgrids with front-end converters 25


Technical Application Papers

Figure 3.48 depicts the trend of the phase-to-ground Case 5b


voltage at the AC front-end converter terminals. The fault current is the sum of the three components
3 Fault analysis

We can see that, unlike in Case 4a, the FEC is able to shown in Figure 3.49.
maintain the same voltage waveform even during the
fault, thanks to the ESS contribution. Assuming Rsc = 1mΩ, the steady-state component of the
fault current Isc reaches a considerable value compared
to the FEC nominal current and higher than in Case 5a
Figure 3.48 – Trend of phase-to-ground voltage at AC front-end converter
terminals during a short circuit on DC side in Case 4b
(Figure 3.50a).
600
Nevertheless, the peak value of the transient component
remains equal to that one of Case 5a (Figure 3.50b), due
400 to the DC capacitors Cdc discharge.
This means that the peak is independent of the presence
200 of the ESS. Even the FEC contribution remains the same
(Figure 3.51). Furthermore, since the value of the ESS
Vconv [V]

0 current contribution (Figure 3.52) is basically equal to


the ratio between the ESS no-load voltage and the series
-200 of the ESS internal resistance and the fault resistance:
803
-400 1 = = = 3995 [3.5]
+ 0.2+ 0.001

-600
such fault current component does not affect the FEC.
0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1 Even in this case the DESAT protection is ineffective be-
t [s]
cause the FEC works in the same manner of Case 5a. In
particular the IGBT block is not able not only to limit the
short circuit current from the AC grid but also the ESS
fault contribution because it does not pass through the
FEC (Figure 3.49).

Figure 3.49 – Isc current components with ESS

V1 I1 L R Ri

V2 DC Load
I2 L R +
Rsc Eo
V3 I3 L R

26 Faults in LVDC microgrids with front-end converters


Figure 3.50a – Trend of fault current Isc during a short circuit on DC side in Figure 3.52 – Trend of fault current Idc1 during a short circuit on DC
Case 5b (steady state component) side in Case 5b

3 Fault analysis
10000 5000

9000 4500

8000 4000

7000 3500

6000 3000

5000 2500

Idc1 [V]
Isc [A]

4000 2000

3000 1500

2000 1000

1000 500

0 0
0.5 0.52 0.54 0.56 0.58 0.6 0.5 0.52 0.54 0.56 0.58 0.6
t [s]
t [s]

Figure 3.50b – Trend of fault current Isc during a short circuit on DC side in
Case 5b (Cdc discharge component) To sum up, first of all the addition of an ESS is equivalent
5
x10 to the introduction of a source which is able to increase
4
the fault current.
3.5 Moreover, the ESS contributes to maintaining the DC-
3
Bus voltage at values higher than those in a passive DC
microgrid.
2.5
As a result, the fault resistance for which the FEC starts
Isc [A]

2 to limit the AC grid absorbed current, the fault resistance


for which the FEC works in over-modulation and the fault
1.5
resistance for which the FEC works in an irregular way,
1
(i.e., bypassing the controlled semiconductors) all result
0.5 lower than those of a passive DC microgrid. Hence, the
0
FEC current control capability improves.
0.4995 0.4996 0.4997 0.4998 0.4999 0.5 0.5001 0.5002 0.5003 0.5004 0.5005 Both the FEC and the ESS fault current depend on DC
t [s]
microgrid structure. Hence, it is not possible to consider
Figure 3.51 – Trend of current Idc during a short circuit on DC the fault current equal to the sum of its value due to the
side in Case 5b FEC only without ESS, and of its value due to the ESS
2000 only without the FEC.
1800 Although the presence of the ESS increases the short
1600 circuit current value, the AC current distortion decreases.
1400 For instance, with Rsc = 0.5 Ω, the THD of Iac decreases
1200
from 5% without ESS to 1.4% with ESS; indeed, main-
1000
taining the Vdc at an higher value (for every Rsc value), the
ESS improves the FEC control capability, thus reducing
Isc [A]

800
in such manner the low frequency harmonic current
600
absorption.
400
The lower the THD, the lower the impact on the MVAC
200 grid in terms of upstream voltage distorsion (better Power
0
0.5 0.52 0.54 0.56 0.58 0.6
Quality).
t [s]

Faults in LVDC microgrids with front-end converters 27


Technical Application Papers

3.1.3 Behavior with PV plant 3.2.1 System with the MV/LV transformer
neutral point grounded
3 Fault analysis

In the presence of a controlled current generator, which


is connected at t = 0.25s and simulates a PV plant con-
nected to the LVDC microgrid, the same phenomena, 3.2.1.1 High fault resistance Rg without ESS and
which are explained in Cases 1b-5b, occur. Neverthe- PV plant (S1=OFF, S2=ON)
less, since the maximum PV plant current in short circuit
Figure 3.53a shows the trend of the voltage between
condition ImaxPV is “limited”, there is a lower Vdc support
the DC positive pole and the transformer neutral point
capability.
in the presence of a ground fault (Rg = 50Ω). If the star
As a result, the Rsc values for which the FEC works in
point of the transformer is grounded, the trend in Figure
over-modulation, or like a diode rectifier, are between the
3.53a corresponds also to the voltage between the poles
case of absence and presence of the ESS3.
and the ground.
In the presence of both the ESS and the PV plant, their
contribution sums to each other: the Rsc limit values be- Figure 3.53a - Trend of the potential of the DC positive pole with respect to
come lower than the case of the presence of ESS only. the transformer neutral point during a ground fault on DC side without ESS
and PV plant and with Rg = 50 Ω
800
3
See Annex C for the behavior in fault condition of the DC/DC converter that interfaces the
700
PV plant with the DC-Bus. In particular, the converter parallel capacitance can be added
to Cdc series in order to have the total capacitances contribution.
600

500
Vpole+ [V]

400

300

200

100

0
0.6 0.6001 0.6002 0.6003 0.6004 0.6005 0.6006 0.6007 0.6008 0.6009 0.601
t [s]

Hence, when a ground fault occurs on the DC positive


3.2 Ground fault on DC side of the front-end pole (the same applies in the case of a ground fault on
converter the negative pole), there is a change from step-like square
wave (Figure 3.53b) to steps with exponential variation.
If a DC positive pole ground fault happens (but similar
Figure 3.53b – Trend of the potential of the DC positive pole with respect
considerations are valid also for a DC negative pole to the transformer neutral point in the absence of fault
ground fault), depending on the grounding configurations 900
and on the ground fault resistance Rg, the same Cases
800
of the previous section may occur.
700
In systems where the transformer neutral point is ground-
600
ed, the general purpose control of FECs cannot generally
500
limit zero-sequence current due to a ground fault.
Vp [V]

More specifically, two distinct behaviors are now possible 400

if the fault resistance Rg is "high", i.e., large enough so 300

that normal operation of the FEC is not altered, and if it 200

is "low" otherwise. 100


Moreover, it is still maintained the hypothesis that at first 0
the IGBT self-protection is not considered so as to show -100
ground fault current trend and path and to compare them 0.4 0.4001 0.4002 0.4003 0.4004 0.4005 0.4006
t [s]
0.4007 0.4008 0.4009 0.401

to those in the presence of the self-protection.

28 Faults in LVDC microgrids with front-end converters


For high values of Rg (e.g. Rg = 50 Ω), the ground fault Figure 3.56 – Trend of Vdc voltage during a ground fault on DC side in
systems with the neutral point of the MV/LV transformer grounded without
current Ig (Figure 3.54) has the same waveform and fre-

3 Fault analysis
ESS and PV plant and with Rg = 50 Ω
quency of the voltage in Figure 3.53. 900
In particular, the ratio between the DC component value
850
and the value at the switching frequency remains con-
stant and equal to 0.8-1. 800

750
Figure 3.54 - Trend of Ig current during a ground fault on DC side in
systems with the neutral point of the MV/LV transformer grounded without Fault
700
ESS and PV plant and with Rg = 50 Ω

Vdc [V]
16 650

14 600

12 550

10 500
0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
t [s]
8
Ig [A]

The electronic components work regularly as shown in


6
Figures 3.57a-b, which depict respectively the current in
4 the electronic component of the first leg of the cathodic
star (Isw1) and the current in the electronic component of
2
the first leg of the anodic star (Isw2)5.
0
0.6 0.6001 0.6002 0.6003 0.6004 0.6005 0.6006 0.6007 0.6008 0.6009 0.601
t [s] Figure 3.57a – Trend of Isw1 current during a ground fault on DC side in
systems with the neutral point of the MV/LV transformer grounded without
As it can be seen from the Figure 3.55, the DC compo- ESS and PV plant and with Rg = 50 Ω
nent of Ig can flow only through the freewheeling diodes 250

of the cathodic star4. 200

The component of the fault current that returns through 150

the negative pole due to the distributed conductance of 100


the DC cable is negligible if the leakage conductance is 50
Isw1 [A]

negligible. 0

-50
Figure 3.55 – DC positive pole ground fault current path without ESS
and PV plant in systems with the neutral point of the MV/LV transformer -100
grounded -150

-200

-250
V1 I1 L R 0.4 0.45 0.5 0.55 0.6 0.65 0.7
t [s]
V2 I2 L R
Rg DC Load Figure 3.57b – Trend of Isw2 current during a ground fault on DC side in
systems with the neutral point of the MV/LV transformer grounded without
V3 I3 L R
ESS and PV plant and with Rg = 50 Ω
250

200

150

100

50
Isw2 [A]

The DC-Bus voltage Vdc (Figure 3.56), after a transient 0

sag when the fault occurs, is brought back to the nominal -50

value by the FEC control. -100

-150

-200

-250
0.4 0.45 0.5 0.55 0.6 0.65 0.7
t [s]
4
In dual manner, in case of a ground fault of the DC negative pole, the ground fault current 5
Trends and values in the others FEC electronic components are equal.
would flow only in the freewheeling diodes of the anodic star.

Faults in LVDC microgrids with front-end converters 29


Technical Application Papers

The waveform of the AC current Iac1 (Figure 3.58) does Since the steady state value of Vdc is not constant, there
not change with respect to the no-fault condition (even is a high current flowing through the DC capacitors.
3 Fault analysis

if there is a DC component superimposed in each phase


and equal to Ig/3 = 8/3 = 2.7A), since the FEC still works
Figure 3.60 – Trend of the DC capacitors current Icap during a ground
in linear modulation. fault on DC side in systems with the neutral point of the MV/LV transformer
grounded without ESS and PV plant and with Rg = 50 mΩ
Figure 3.58 – Trend of Iac1 current during a ground fault on DC side in
systems with the neutral point of the MV/LV transformer grounded without 2500
ESS and PV plant and with Rg = 50 Ω
2000
250

200 1500

150
1000
100

Icap [A]
500
50
Iac1 [A]

0 0

-50
-500
-100
-1000
-150 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
t [s]
-200

-250
The DC capacitor discharge current comes from the FEC
0.4 0.45 0.5 0.55
t [s]
0.6 0.65 lower terminal; as a result, the converter, during the fault
transient, supplies a positive current flowing out of both
3.2.1.2 Low fault resistance Rg without ESS and terminals (Figures 3.61-3.62).
PV plant (S1=ON, S2=ON/OFF) This behavior corresponds to an abnormal FEC opera-
The decreasing values of the fault resistance Rg cause tion, since during normal operation current flows out of
voltage variations on the DC-Bus and give rise to a the upper terminal and into the lower one (Figures 3.61-
gradual loss of control by the converter. 3.62 before the fault).
As the Rg decreases, the earth fault current Ig has a higher The sum of the current from the upper terminal and of the
and higher DC component and Ig reaches such values current flowing through the capacitors makes the ground
that the use of protective devices is anyway required. fault current Ig (minus the load current).
In particular, e.g. with Rg = 50 mΩ, the FEC behaves like
a diode rectifier (Vdc < 1.35 ∙ √3 ∙ V1 as in Figure 3.59): Figure 3.61 – Trend of the upper terminal current Iconvdc1 during a ground
fault on DC side in systems with the neutral point of the MV/LV transformer
it works for longer and longer fractions of time in an ir- grounded without ESS and PV plant and with Rg = 50 mΩ
regular way, i.e. bypassing the controlled semiconductors 2500
(fault current flows in freewheeling diodes).
As we can see in Figure 3.59, as soon as the fault occurs 2000
(t = 0.5 s), Vdc decreases discharging the DC capacitors
(Figure 3.60) and reaching the steady state value, which 1500
guarantees a limited power delivery to the DC load.
1000
Iconvdc1 [A]

Figure 3.59 – Trend of Vdc voltage during a ground fault on DC side in


systems with the neutral point of the MV/LV transformer grounded without
ESS and PV plant and with Rg = 50 mΩ 500

900
0
800 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
t [s]
700
Vdc [V]

600

500

400

300

200

100
0
0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
t [s]

30 Faults in LVDC microgrids with front-end converters


Figure 3.62 – Trend of the lower terminal current Iconvdc2 during a ground Figure 3.65 – Trend of the voltage of the DC negative pole Vpole- during a
fault on DC side in systems with the neutral point of the MV/LV transformer ground fault on DC side in systems with the neutral point of the MV/LV

3 Fault analysis
grounded without ESS and PV plant and with Rg = 50 mΩ transformer grounded without ESS and PV plant and with Rg = 50 mΩ
2500 100

0
2000
-100
1500 -200

-300
1000
-400
IIconvdc2 [A]

500
-500

Vpole- [V]
0 -600

-700
-500
-800
-1000 -900
0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
t [s] t [s]

Ig (Figure 3.63) has a large DC component and, unlike the In steady-state conditions, the DC current component
cases with “high” Rg (Figure 3.54), low-frequency zero- Iconvdc1 (Figure 3.61), which is the sum of the DC fault
sequence harmonics (mainly the 3rd, 6th and 9th). current component and of the load current Vdc/R, flows
Figure 3.63 – Trend of the ground fault current Ig during a ground fault out from the FEC upper terminal, while only the DC load
on DC side in systems with the neutral point of the MV/LV transformer current Iconvdc2 (Figure 3.62) flows into the lower terminal,
grounded without ESS and PV plant and with Rg = 50 mΩ
2500
regardless of Rg low values.
Iac1 not only has a large DC component, but also is no
longer sinusoidal (Figure 3.66), due to over-modulation
2000
effect (Figure 3.67).
1500
Figure 3.66 – Trend of Iac1 current during a ground fault on DC side in
systems with the neutral point of the MV/LV transformer grounded without
1000 ESS and PV plant and with Rg = 50 mΩ
Ig [A]

1400
1200
500
1000

0 800
Iac1 [A]

0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1 600


t [s]
400
Moreover, Ig still follows the path of Figure 3.55, supplied 200

by a zero-sequence voltage component, whose average 0

value is equal to Vdc/2. Figures 3.64-3.65 depict respec- -200

tively the trends of the DC pole voltage toward ground: -400

during the fault Ig is supplied by the voltage in Figure 3.64 -600


0.4 0.45 0.5 0.55 0.6 0.65
and limited by the total fault circuit resistance. t [s]

Figure 3.64 – Trend of the voltage of the DC positive pole Vpole+ during a Figure 3.67 – PWM Control over-modulation during a ground fault on DC
ground fault on DC side in systems with the neutral point of the MV/LV side in systems with the neutral point of the MV/LV transformer grounded
transformer grounded without ESS and PV plant and with Rg = 50 mΩ without ESS and PV plant and with Rg = 50 mΩ
900 20

800
15
700
10
600
5
500
PWM Control

400 0
Vpole+ [V]

300
-5
200
-10
100
-15
0
-100 -20
0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1 0.98 0.982 0.984 0.986 0.988 0.99 0.992 0.994 0.996 0.998 1
t [s] t [s]

Faults in LVDC microgrids with front-end converters 31


Technical Application Papers

Iac1 is shifted by a value equal to one-third the fault cur- Figure 3.69b – Trend of Isw2 current during a ground fault on DC side in
systems with the neutral point of the MV/LV transformer grounded without
rent DC component.
3 Fault analysis

ESS and PV plant and with Rg = 50 mΩ


Such component may cause several problems, such as 1400
the saturation of MV/LV transformer ferromagnetic core. 1200
In steady-state conditions, Iac1 does not remain positive
1000
for all its period: this still involves the conduction of the
800
anodic star freewheeling diodes.
600
Since the converter works like a diode rectifier, even the

Isw2 [A]
voltage at AC terminals trends to a square waveform due 400

to over-modulation effect (Figure 3.68). 200

0
Figure 3.68 – Trend of the voltage at AC converter terminal Vconv during
a ground fault on DC side in systems with the neutral point of the MV/LV -200
transformer grounded without ESS and PV plant and with Rg = 50 mΩ
-400
600
-600
0.4 0.45 0.5 0.55 0.6 0.65
400 t [s]

200
In converters sold on the market, when the current in
Vconv [V]

0 one of IGBTs tends to exceed the overload limits, a block


command is sent to all converter IGBTs.
-200
Then, since all IGBTs are switched off, and only free-
-400 wheeling diodes still remain in conduction, the converter
-600
works as a non-controlled diode rectifier. With the IGBT
block the DC capacitor discharge contribution to the
-500 ground fault current is limited.
-1000 Nevertheless, the ground fault current remains practically
0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
t [s]
unchanged and equal to that in Figure 3.63, because,
even without IGBT block, such current already flows only
If we look at the currents Isw1 (Figure 3.69a) and Isw2 (Fig- through the cathodic star freewheeling diodes (Figure
ure 3.69b), we note that the DC component of the fault 3.70a). On the contrary, Isw2 (Figure 3.70b) changes, since
current flows through the freewheeling diodes of the now the current can flow only through the freewheeling
cathodic star, while the DC component in the freewheel- diodes and there is no longer any PWM control.
ing diodes of the anodic star is only the DC load current. Even the trend of the AC absorbed current Iac1 is similar
Moreover, Figures 3.69a-b show clearly the non-PWM to that of a diode rectifier with a predominant DC com-
control for wide time intervals, due to over-modulation. ponent due to the fault (Figure 3.71).
Figure 3.69a – Trend of Isw1 current during a ground fault on DC side in Figure 3.70a – Trend of Isw1 current during a ground fault on DC side in
systems with the neutral point of the MV/LV transformer grounded without systems with the neutral point of the MV/LV transformer grounded with
ESS and PV plant and with Rg = 50 mΩ IGBT block, without ESS and PV plant and with Rg = 50 mΩ
400 400

200 200

0 0

-200 -200

-400 -400
Isw1 [A]

Isw1 [A]

-600 -600

-800 -800

-1000 -1000

-1200 -1200

-1400 -1400
0.4 0.45 0.5 0.55 0.6 0.65 0.4 0.45 0.5 0.55 0.6 0.65
t [s] t [s]

32 Faults in LVDC microgrids with front-end converters


Figure 3.70b – Trend of Isw2 current during a ground fault on DC side in Figure 3.72 – Trend of Ig during a ground fault on DC side in systems with
systems with the neutral point of the MV/LV transformer grounded with the neutral point of the MV/LV transformer grounded without ESS and PV

3 Fault analysis
IGBT block, without ESS and PV plant and with Rg = 50 mΩ plant and with Rg = 1 mΩ
300 2000

1800
200
1600

1400
100
1200

1000
Isw2 [A]

Ig [A]
800
-100 600

400
-200
500
0
-300 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
0.4 0.45 0.5 0.55 0.6 0.65
t [s] t [s]

In particular, the loss of FEC control is more likely in the


Figure 3.71 – Trend of Iac1 current during a ground fault on DC side in sys- installations where the exposed conductive parts are con-
tems with the neutral point of the MV/LV transformer grounded with IGBT nected to a protective grounding system that is the same
block, without ESS and PV plant and with Rg = 50 mΩ
as the operational grounding (e.g. industrial plants and
1400
large commercial users having their own transformation
1200
substation), since, in that case, impedance of the fault
1000
ring is usually very low (of mΩ order).
800 On the contrary, in low voltage installations where the
protective grounding system is distinct from the opera-
Iac1 [A]

600

400
tional, since the grounding system has been designed
according to the relation:
200
120
0 ≤ [3.7]
-200

-400
the grounding resistance can exceed the value for which
0.4 0.45 0.5 0.55 0.6 0.65 the converter loses the control.
t [s]
To sum up, Figure 3.73 depicts the DC ground fault
Considering a bolted ground fault with Rg = 1 mΩ, we current values Ig as a function of the fault resistance Rg.
obtain a DC component of Ig (Figure 3.72) equal approxi- As we can see, with the decrease of Rg, the fault current
mately to 1600A (≈ 13 times Idcn), albeit IGBTs are blocked. may reach values even higher than 14 times the FEC
Such fault current value may jeopardize the integrity of nominal current on the DC side Idcn.
the freewheeling diodes. As a result, protective devices are required.
Compared to the bolted short circuit between the DC
Figure 3.73 - DC component values of the ground fault current Ig as a func-
poles, now the transient current peak due to the Cdc dis- tion of the fault resistance Rg in systems with the neutral point of the MV/
charge is lower, because now the discharge impedance LV transformer grounded (FEC contribution, Idcn = 125 A)
is not only Rsc, but it is equal to the sum Rg + Z/3 (where 2000
Z is the total AC grid equivalent impedance). Neverthe- 1800
less, now, the steady-state value of the fault current 1600
is higher by more or less 30% than the steady-state
1400
value in bolted short circuit condition (≈ 10 times Idcn):
1200
this is because the AC inductances do not create imped-
1000
ance to the DC component of the ground fault current
Ig [A]

800
flowing through the ground connection of the MV/LV
transformer neutral point. 600

On the contrary, since a short circuit can be seen like an 400

additional “low resistance load”, the Iac1 waveform does 200

not change (Figure 3.32) and then the AC grid contribution 0


is more limited by the inductive reactance. 100 10 1 0.1 0.01 0.001
Rsc [Ω]

Faults in LVDC microgrids with front-end converters 33


Technical Application Papers

3.2.1.3 High fault resistance Rg with ESS Figure 3.75 – Trend of Iconvdc2 during a ground fault on DC side in systems
with the neutral point of the MV/LV transformer grounded with ESS and Rg
3 Fault analysis

(S1=OFF, S2=ON) = 50 Ω
50
For high values of Rg (e.g. Rg = 50 Ω), direction of DC
components of Iconvdc1 (Figure 3.74) and Iconvdc2 (Figure
0
3.75) is outwards for the upper terminal and inwards for 50

the lower terminal of the converter. -50


0

This means there is no reclosing path for any possible -50


contribution to fault by the storage system, which then

Iconvdc1 [A]
-100 -100
feeds only the load, while the converter feeds both the
-150
load and the fault. -150
-200
Indeed the DC component of Iconvdc1, equal to 108 A, is 0.6 0.6002 0.6004 0.6006 0.6008 0.601
the sum of the DC components of: -200

1= =− 2 + = − ( − 100) + 8 = 108 [3.8] -250


0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
t [s]
While the DC component of Iconvdc2 is only equal to the
load current FEC contribution.
Load current includes contributions by the storage sys- Ig (Figure 3.76) has the same amplitude and frequency as
tem and by the FEC. it would have without the ESS (Figure 3.54): this shows
With reference directions as in Figure 2.2: that for high values of Rg the ESS does not feed a ground
fault. The DC component of Ig is:
800
= = 7.1
= 113 [3.9]
= 1 + 2 = 108 + ( − 100) = 8 [3.11]

= − + 1 =− 2+ 1 = −( − 100) +13 = 113 [3.10] where the value of the DC component of Iconvdc2 is nega-
tive, as shown in Figure 3.75

Figure 3.74 – Trend of Iconvdc1 during a ground fault on DC side in systems Figure 3.76 – Trend of Ig during a ground fault on DC side in systems with
with the neutral point of the MV/LV transformer grounded with ESS and Rg the neutral point of the MV/LV transformer grounded with ESS and
= 50 Ω Rg = 50 Ω
16
250
14

200 12

10
150 250 8
Ig [A]
Iconvdc1 [A]

200
6
100 150
4
100
50 2
50

0 0
0.6 0.6002 0.6004 0.6006 0.6008 0.601 0.6 0.6001 0.6002 0.6003 0.6004 0.6005 0.6006 0.6007 0.6008 0.6009 0.601
0 t [s]
0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
t [s]

34 Faults in LVDC microgrids with front-end converters


3.2.1.4 Low fault resistance Rg with ESS Figure 3.77 – Trend of Iconvdc1 during a ground fault on DC side in systems
with the neutral point of the MV/LV transformer grounded with ESS and Rg

3 Fault analysis
(S1=ON, S2=ON/OFF) = 50 mΩ
3000
The presence of the ESS keeps Vdc at a higher value than
it would be without the storage system, like in the case 2500
of a short circuit.
Even if the ESS is present, the FEC does not operate 2000

correctly, because the lower the value of Rg, the more


the DC components of Iconvdc1 and Iconvdc2 tend to be both 1500

IIconvdc1 [A]
directed outwards with respect to the upper and lower 1000
terminal of converter.
If Rg is even lower (e.g. Rg = 50 mΩ), not only the DC 500
components, but the full waveforms of currents Iconvdc1
(Figure 3.77) and Iconvdc2 (Figure 3.78) are directed out- 0
0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
wards of the DC terminals of the converter. t [s]
Figure 3.78 – Trend of Iconvdc2 during a ground fault on DC side in systems
This means that there is a reclosing path for the fault with the neutral point of the MV/LV transformer grounded with ESS and Rg
current contribution supplied by the ESS (Figure 3.79)6 = 50 mΩ
that in this condition feeds both the load and the fault, 3000

while the converter feeds only the fault. 2500


The limit value of Rg below which this operation mode
takes place, is the one for which Iconvdc2 = 0. 2000

1500

1000
IIconvdc2 [A]

500

0
6
In dual manner, in case of a ground fault on the DC negative pole, the ESS contribution
to the ground fault current would flow only in the IGBTs of the cathodic star: as a conse- -500
quence, both Iconvdc1 and Iconvdc2 would flow into the FEC terminals. 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
t [s]

Figure 3.79 – DC positive pole ground fault current path with ESS and low fault resistance in systems with the neutral point of the MV/LV transformer
grounded

V1 I1 L R Ri

V2 DC Load
I2 L R +
Rg Eo
V3 I3 L R

Faults in LVDC microgrids with front-end converters 35


Technical Application Papers

The ESS thus plays a key role in allowing reclosure of Figure 3.82 shows the current flowing in the filter capaci-
the DC component coming out of the negative terminal tance Cdc: it can be noted that, even if the ESS keeps Vdc
3 Fault analysis

of the FEC. high, a considerable ripple current flows in the capacitors,


This is an extremely important fact, because, due to the which may then be damaged7.
lack of grounding of the storage system, its presence is
Figure 3.82 – Trend of the DC capacitor current Icap during a ground fault
usually neglected in a first approximation calculation of on DC side in systems with the neutral point of the MV/LV transformer
Ig in case of a ground fault of a single pole. grounded with ESS and Rg = 50 mΩ
With reference to the path of Ig as shown in Figure 3.79 2000
and Rg = 50 mΩ, the DC component of Ig (Figure 3.80)
1500
is still given by:
1000
= 1+ 2 = 1572 + 1193 = 2765 [3.12]
500

Icap [A]
but now the DC component of Iconvdc2 is positive, as shown
in Figure 3.78. 0

-500

Figure 3.80 – Trend of Ig during a ground fault on DC side in systems with


-1000
the neutral point of the MV/LV transformer grounded with ESS and
Rg = 50 mΩ
-1500
3000 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
t [s]

2500
As shown in Figure 3.83, depending on the value of Rg,
2000 Iac1 may be completely positive, and all the AC component
Ig [A]

absorbed by the converter feeds the fault.


1500

1000
Figure 3.83 – Trend of Iac1 current during a ground fault on DC side in
systems with the neutral point of the MV/LV transformer grounded with
500
ESS and Rg = 50 mΩ

0 1200
0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
t [s] 1000

800
The DC component of current fed by the ESS Idc1 (Figure
3.81) now results from the sum of fault contribution Iconvdc2 600
Iac1 [A]

and the DC load current, which shows that all load current 400

is generated by the ESS, while current from the converter 200


flows into the ground fault: 0
548
1 = + 2 = 7.1
+ 1193 = 1270 [3.13] -200

-400
Figure 3.81 – Trend of Idc1 during a ground fault on DC side in systems 0.4 0.45 0.5 0.55 0.6 0.65
t [s]
with the neutral point of the MV/LV transformer grounded with ESS and
Rg = 50 mΩ

1400

1200

1000

800
Idc1 [A]

600

400

200
7
The DC component is zero, since the areas under the positive Icap values are equal to
0 the areas under the negative values.
0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
t [s]

36 Faults in LVDC microgrids with front-end converters


If current Iac1 is always positive, it flows only in the free- Figure 3.85 - DC component values of the ground fault current Ig as a func-
tion of the fault resistance Rg in systems with the neutral point of the MV/
wheeling diodes of cathodic star (Figure 3.84a) and in

3 Fault analysis
LV transformer grounded with ESS (Idcn = 125 A)
the IGBTs of the anodic star (Figure 3.84b).
4500

Figure 3.84a – Trend of Isw1 current during a ground fault on DC side in 4000
systems with the neutral point of the MV/LV transformer grounded with
ESS and Rg = 50 mΩ 3500

200 3000

0 2500

Ig [A]
2000
-200
1500
-400 1000
Isw1 [A]

-600 800

0
-800
100 10 1 0.1 0.01 0.001
Rsc [Ω]
-1000

-1200
0.4 0.45 0.5 0.55 0.6 0.65
t [s]
If the IGBT block is considered, the currents Isw1 and Isw2
Figure 3.84b – Trend of Isw2 current during a ground fault on DC side in change as shown in Figures 3.86a-b.
systems with the neutral point of the MV/LV transformer grounded with
ESS and Rg = 50 mΩ As it can be seen, unlike in Figures 3.84a-b, there is no
1200 longer the PWM control and in particular, since Isw2 flowed
only in the IGBT, now it is cancelled.
1000
As a result, the ESS contribution to the ground fault cur-
800 rent is interrupted.
600
Isw2 [A]

400

200 Figure 3.86a – Trend of Isw1 current during a ground fault on DC side in
systems with the neutral point of the MV/LV transformer grounded with
0 ESS, IGBT block and Rg = 50 mΩ

-200 200

-400 0
0.4 0.45 0.5 0.55 0.6 0.65
t [s] -200

-400
To sum up, Figure 3.85 depicts the DC ground fault
Isw1 [A]

-600
current values Ig as a function of the fault resistance Rg
with the ESS. -800
As we can see, with the decrease of Rg, the fault current
-1000
may reach values even higher than 33 times the FEC
nominal current on the DC side Idcn. -1200

As a result, protective devices are required. -1400


0.4 0.45 0.5 0.55 0.6 0.65
t [s]

Faults in LVDC microgrids with front-end converters 37


Technical Application Papers

Figure 3.86b – Trend of Isw2 current during a ground fault on DC side in To sum up, first of all the ESS connection corresponds
systems with the neutral point of the MV/LV transformer grounded with
to the introduction of a source that is able to feed the
3 Fault analysis

ESS, IGBT block and Rg = 50 mΩ


400 ground fault for low fault resistance values.
300
Nevertheless, FECs sold on the market usually avoid
such contribution by blocking their IGBTs.
200
The ESS maintains the Vdc at an higher value than one of
100 a passive LVDC microgrid, improving the power quality
of the DC loads.
Isw2 [A]

0
Moreover, Rg values for which the FEC starts to limit the
-100 AC current absorption, for which the FEC control torms
to over-modulation and for which the FEC works like a
-200
diode rectifier are lower than those of a passive LVDC
-300 microgrid, improving the FEC current control capability.
-400 Even for the ground fault, both the FEC and the ESS fault
0.4 0.45 0.5 0.55 0.6 0.65
t [s] contributions depend on the LVDC microgrid structure:
Even blocking the IGBTs and interrupting the ESS con- hence, it is not possible to consider the fault current equal
tribution, the Iac1 (with Rg = 50 mΩ) still remains always to the sum of its value due to the FEC without ESS only
positive (Figure 3.87), but with a DC component lower and of its value due to only the ESS without the FEC only,
than the Iac1 of Figure 3.83. like in DC short circuit condition.
Figure 3.87 – Trend of Iac1 current during a ground fault on DC side in sys-
tems with the neutral point of the MV/LV transformer grounded with ESS,
IGBT block and Rg = 50 mΩ
1400
3.2.1.5 Behavior with PV plant
1200
In the presence of a controlled current generator, which
1000 is connected at t = 0.25s and simulates a PV plant con-
800 nected to the LVDC microgrid, the same phenomena,
which are explained in Cases 1b-5b, occur.
600
Nevertheless, since the maximum PV plant current in
Iac1 [A]

400
short circuit condition ImaxPV is “limited”, there is a lower
200 Vdc support capability.
0 As a result, the Rg values for which the FEC works in
over-modulation or like a diode rectifier are between the
-200
case of absence and presence of the ESS8.
-400
0.4 0.45 0.5 0.55 0.6 0.65
In the presence of both the ESS and the PV plant, their
t [s] contributions sum to each other: the Rg limit values
Even removing the ESS contribution, the ground fault become lower than the case of the only ESS presence.
current Ig still remains high (Figure 3.88), so it has to be Also in presence of PV plant, as Rg decreases, the PV
interrupted by suitable protective devices. generator provides the same reclosing path for unidirec-
Figure 3.88 – Trend of Ig during a ground fault on DC side in systems with tional current component Iconvdc2 shown in Figure 3.79 and
the neutral point of the MV/LV transformer grounded with ESS, IGBT block
it theoretically forces in semiconductors of the anodic
and Rg = 50 mΩ
star a current that can be larger than the load current.
1400
Furthermore, as for the scenario with the ESS, for high
1200 values of Rg, the converter feeds both the DC load and
the earth fault, while the PV plant only supplies the load.
1000
On the other hand, for low Rg values, the converter only
800 feeds the fault, while the PV plant supplies both the DC
Ig [A]

600

400

200
8
See Annex C for the behavior in fault condition of the DC/DC converter that interfaces the
0 PV plant with the DC-Bus. In particular, the converter parallel capacitance can be added
to Cdc series in order to have the total capacitances contribution.
0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
t [s]

38 Faults in LVDC microgrids with front-end converters


load and the fault by Idc1 = Vdc/R + Iconvdc2. 3.2.2 Systems with the DC negative pole
However, because the PV plant can provide a maximum grounded

3 Fault analysis
possible fault current IPVmax, fault current does not increase In these systems, because the DC negative pole is
more. grounded while the transformer neutral point is isolated,
The DC component of Iac1 current is also limited and a ground fault of the DC positive pole is equivalent to a
currents Iac1 and Isw2 may span both polarities (Figures short circuit between the DC poles.
3.89, 3.91). Then, the analysis is the same as for a short circuit on DC
side, both for active and passive networks (as discussed
Figure 3.89 – Trend of Iac1 during a ground fault on DC side in systems with in Section 3.1).
the neutral point of the MV/LV transformer grounded with PV plant and
Rg = 50 mΩ
Since the negative pole is solidly grounded, an ac-
1400
cidental contact of it to ground would cause no harm:
the situation is similar to an earth contact when neutral
1200
is solidly grounded at the source (transformer station).
1000
Since a ground fault is equivalent to a short circuit on
800 the DC side, no DC component is present in the current
600 absorbed from the AC side (independent of Rg value).
400
Hence, such a fault is seen by the FEC as an additional,
“low impedance load".
200
In particular, (in the LVDC microgrid analyzed) the Rg value
Iac1 [A]

0
for which the FEC starts to limit Vdc is equal to Rg = 13 Ω,
-200 whereas with the DC negative pole grounded, this condi-
-400 tion occurs for Rg = Rsc = 45 Ω: this means that the limit
-600 between “high fault resistance” and “low fault resistance”
0.4 0.45 0.5 0.55 0.6 0.65
t [s]
changes. This is because in systems with the transformer
Figure 3.90 – Trends of Isw1 during a ground fault on DC side in systems neutral point grounded, the total zero-sequence imped-
with the neutral point of the MV/LV transformer grounded with PV plant ance “seen” by the fault current is 3Rg + Z, while in the
and Rg = 50 mΩ
systems with the DC negative pole grounded, the fault
200
current only “sees” Rg. Moreover, now the DC voltage
0 feeding the fault is equal to the whole DC-Bus voltage
-200 Vdc, while in systems with the transformer neutral point
grounded the fault is fed by a DC voltage equal to Vdc/2.
-400
As a conseguence, the Rg value for which the FEC starts
to limit the power transfer is higher than in the systems
Isw1 [A]

-600
analyzed previously. Moreover, we can observe the AC
-800
converter terminal voltage variation compared to the pre-
-1000 vious systems. For example, assuming Rg = 50 mΩ, Vconv
-1200
(Figure 3.92) decreases and tends to a square waveform,
but always positive, unlike Vconv in Figure 3.68.
-1400
0.4 0.45 0.5 0.55 0.6 0.65
If ESS and PV plant were present, the waveform would
t [s] be the same, but the maximum value of Vconv during the
Figure 3.91 – Trends of Isw2 during a ground fault on DC side in systems fault would be higher, since Vdc would be higher.
with the neutral point of the MV/LV transformer grounded with PV plant
and Rg = 50 mΩ Figure 3.92 – Trend of the voltage at AC converter terminal Vconv in systems
1200 with the DC negative pole grounded during a ground fault on DC side
without ESS and PV plant and with Rg = 50 mΩ
1000
900
800
800
600 700

400 600
Isw2 [A]

500
200
Vconv [V]

400
0
300
-200
200
-400 100

-600 0
0.4 0.45 0.5 0.55 0.6 0.65 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
t [s] t [s]

Faults in LVDC microgrids with front-end converters 39


Technical Application Papers

3.2.3 Systems with the DC mid-point grounded Unlike transformer neutral point grounded systems, in
which the fault current Ig flows in the connection between
3 Fault analysis

DC mid-point grounding offers some engineering ad-


vantages, e.g. availability of two different voltage levels, the transformer neutral to ground, in systems with the
dimensioning of insulation system for only half the full mid-point grounded, the Ig flows through the ground
rated voltage, at the expenses of some additional instal- connection of the DC mid-point.
lation complexity. If no ESS and PV plant are present, the converter does
Nevertheless, DC mid-point grounding has the drawback not feed the fault, because there is no reclosing path for
that, in case of ground fault on one pole, depending the DC component of Ig (Figure 3.95): so, it can keep the
on the fault resistance, even if the converter is able to Vdc at the rated value, independent of the Rg value. As a
control the DC-Bus voltage, the voltage between the consequence, the 5 different possible cases of Section
positive pole and the ground Vpole+ tends to zero, while 3.1 do not apply, and the converter keeps feeding the
the voltage of the healthy pole with respect to ground load.
Vpole- may float and reach the full rated DC voltage (–Vdc),
Figure 3.95 – DC positive pole ground fault current path in systems with
which may cause problems to the isolation system. the DC mid-point grounded without ESS and PV plant
(Figure 3.93-3.94).
Figure 3.93 – Trend of the voltage of the DC positive pole Vpole+ in systems
with the DC mid-point grounded during a ground fault on DC side without
ESS and PV plant and with Rg = 50 Ω (S1=OFF, S2=ON), 50 mΩ (S1=ON, V1 I1 L R
S2=ON/OFF)
V2 I2 L R
450
Rg DC Load
400 Rg = 50 mΩ V3 L
I3 R
Rg = 50 Ω
350

300

250
Vpole+ [V]

200

150

100

50 Thus, the Ig value is only due to the discharge of the


0
capacitance Cdc on the DC positive pole, and it decays
to zero as shown in Figure 3.96.
-50
0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
t [s]
Figure 3.94 – Trend of the voltage of the DC negative pole Vpole- in systems Figure 3.96 – Trend of Ig during a ground fault on DC side in systems with
with the DC mid-point grounded during a ground fault on DC side without the DC mid-point grounded without ESS and PV plant and with Rg = 50
ESS and PV plant and with Rg = 50 Ω (S1=OFF, S2=ON), 50 mΩ (S1=ON, mΩ (S1=ON, S2=ON/OFF)
S2=ON/OFF) 8000

0 7000

-100 Rg = 50 mΩ
Rg = 50 Ω 6000
-200
5000
-300
4000
-400
Ig [A]
Vpole- [V]

3000
-500

-600 2000

-700 1000

-800 0
0.49 0.495 0.5 0.505 0.51 0.515 0.52
-900 t [s]
0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
t [s]

If ESS or PV plant are present, the steady state behavior


is the same: these source, similarly to the converter, feed
only the load, because there is no reclosing path for the
DC component of the fault current.
So, similar results are obtained for the variation of Vpole+
and Vpole- with varying values of the values of Rg (Figures
3.97-3.98).

40 Faults in LVDC microgrids with front-end converters


Figure 3.97 – Trend of the voltage of the DC positive pole Vpole+ in systems capacitance Cdc (Figure 3.101): the Ig peak value is not
with the DC mid-point grounded during a ground fault on DC side with affected, but the duration of the initial phase of transient

3 Fault analysis
ESS and Rg = 50 Ω (S1=OFF, S2=ON), 50 mΩ (S1=ON, S2=ON/OFF)
is increased.
450

400 Rg = 50 mΩ Figure 3.99 – Trend of Ig during a ground fault on DC side in systems with the
Rg = 50 Ω DC mid-point grounded with ESS and Rg = 50 mΩ (S1=ON, S2=ON/OFF)
350
8000
300
7000
250
6000
Vpole+ [V]

200
5000
150
4000
100

50 3000

Ig [A]
0 2000

-50 1000
0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
t [s]
0
Figure 3.98 – Trend of the voltage of the DC negative pole Vpole- in systems
with the DC mid-point grounded during a ground fault on DC side with -1000
ESS and Rg = 50 Ω (S1=OFF, S2=ON), 50 mΩ (S1=ON, S2=ON/OFF) 0.49 0.495 0.5 0.505 0.51 0.515 0.52
t [s]
0

-100 Rg = 50 mΩ
Rg = 50 Ω
Figure 3.100 – Trend of Idc1 during a ground fault on DC side in systems
-200
with the DC mid-point grounded with ESS and Rg = 50 mΩ (S1=ON,
-300 S2=ON/OFF)
2500
-400
Vpole- [V]

-500
2000
-600

-700
1500
-800
Idc1 [A]

-900 1000
0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
t [s]
If ESS is present, the steady state value of the Ig (Figure 500
3.99) is still zero.
However, a transient current Idc1 is generated by the ESS 0
at the moment of the fault (Figure 3.100): this transient 0.49 0.495 0.5 0.505 0.51 0.515 0.52
contribution to fault current recloses in the negative pole t [s]

Figure 3.101 – DC positive pole ground fault current path in systems with the DC mid-point grounded with ESS

V1 I1 L R Ri

V2 DC Load
I2 L R +
Rg Eo
V3 I3 L R

Faults in LVDC microgrids with front-end converters 41


Technical Application Papers

If a PV plant is present, the same phenomena occur as


seen for ESS, but the value of the current Idc1 is limited
3.3 Short circuit on AC side of the front-end
3 Fault analysis

to the maximum current IPVmax: Figure 3.102 shows the converter


transient current, which flows in the negative-side capaci-
tance Cdc superimposed to the steady state load current. For voltages on the AC side lower than -15% of the nomi-
If both ESS and PV are present, fault current includes the nal value, the converter usually disconnects from the grid.
sum of their contributions. Instead, when there is a need to deliver to the grid all
the currents available in the case of a strong decrease
Figure 3.102 – Trend of Idc1 during a ground fault on DC side in systems
with the DC mid-point grounded with PV plant and Rg = 50 mΩ (S1=ON, in the voltage (Figure 3.103) to meet LVFRT (Low Volt-
S2=ON/OFF) age Fault Ride Through) requirements, e.g. in order to
80 increase the short-circuit current of the plant, the peak
70
value (without distortion) of the current exchanged with
the grid, is given by:
60

50 = 2∙ = 2∙ ≈1.7 ∙ [3.14]
0.85

40
assuming there is constant power.
Idc1 [A]

30

20

10

0
0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
t [s]

Figure 3.103 – AC three phase short circuit current path

V1 I1 L R Ri

V2 DC Load PV plant
I2 L R +
Eo PPV/Vdc
V3 I3 L R

42 Faults in LVDC microgrids with front-end converters


To preserve the integrity of the semiconductors, all Figure 3.106 - AC current waveform when the power supplied is equal to
converters limit the instantaneous value of the current, the maximum value and with a bolted short circuit

3 Fault analysis
which is usually set at a higher value than the value given 2.5
by (3.14). 2
1.41 Iconvmax
As a consequence, as the grid voltage falls below the
1.5
prescribed minimum values, the current passes first from
a sinusoidal to a trapezoidal shape, then to a squared 1

one as shown in Figures. 3.104-3.105-3.106. 0.5


10 ms 20 ms
0
Figure 3.104 – AC current waveform when the power supplied is equal to
the maximum value and V1 > 85% V1n -0.5

-1
2.5
-1.5
2
1.41 Iconvmax
-2
1.5
-2.5
1

0.5
10 ms 20 ms
0 Hence, in case of an AC short circuit, the converter sup-
-0.5 plies a current of 50%-100% more than the rated value.
-1 Considering the FEC used in this study, the maximum
current supplied during an AC short circuit is:
-1.5

-2 = =1.7 ∙ = 1.7 ∙ 144 = 245 [3.15]


-2.5
This consideration does not take into account of the
Figure 3.105 - AC current waveform when the power supplied is equal to presence of capacitors possibly installed on the converter
the maximum value and V1 < 85% V1n
AC side: such capacitors would increase the short circuit
2.5
current peak due to their discharge.
2
1.41 Iconvmax Besides, in the particular case of n-converters installed in
1.5 parallel, if an AC side short-circuit occurred on the paral-
1
leling bar, the fault current would be about n-times the
value of in (3.14) and consequently the protective device
0.5
10 ms 20 ms should have an adequate breaking capacity.
0

-0.5

-1

-1.5

-2

-2.5

Faults in LVDC microgrids with front-end converters 43


Technical Application Papers

3.4 Ground fault on AC side of the front-end


Figure 3.107b – Trend of Isw2 current during a ground fault on AC side in
systems with the DC negative pole grounded without ESS and PV plant
3 Fault analysis

and with Rg’ = 50 Ω


converter
250

200
Considering the system shown in Figure 1.5, if a ground
150
fault occurs on AC side of the FEC, the same cases of
100
Section 3.1 may happen, depending on the value of the
fault resistance Rg’, both with passive and active LVDC 50

microgrids. In particular, even in this condition, we can

Isw2 [A]
0

distinguish between operation in presence of an “high -50

fault resistance” and a “low fault resistance”. -100


Moreover, we keep the hypothesis that at first the IGBT -150
self-protection is not considered in order to show ground -200
fault current trend and path and compare them to those
-250
in the presence of the self-protection. 0.4 0.45 0.5 0.55
t [s]
0.6 0.65

Figure 3.108 – Trend of the voltage at AC converter terminal Vconv in sys-


tems with the DC negative pole grounded without ESS and PV plant and
3.4.1 High fault resistance Rg’ without ESS and with Rg’ = 50 Ω
PV plant (S1=OFF, S2=ON) 900
Assuming “high fault resistances” (e.g. Rg = 50 Ω), Vdc is 800
maintained at the rated value: thus, the ground fault is
700
“seen” by the FEC as an “additional DC load”. Indeed,
600
even the FEC control still works in linear modulation with
Vconv [V]

a current increase during the fault (Figures 3.107a-b). 500

Nevertheless, unlike the DC load RL (whose applied 400


voltage remains constant at Vdc value), the “additional 300
DC load” Rg’ has an applied voltage that varies between 200
Vdc value and zero, as shown in Figure (3.108), due to
100
the switching effect of the IGBT of the first leg of the
0
cathodic star. 0.6 0.6001 0.6002 0.6003 0.6004 0.6005 0.6006 0.6007 0.6008 0.6009 0.601
t [s]
Figure 3.107a – Trend of Isw1 current during a ground fault on AC side in The ground fault power is supplied by the AC grid by
systems with the DC negative pole grounded without ESS and PV plant
and with Rg’ = 50 Ω
means of an AC current increase (Figure 3.109), which
is transformed into a zero-sequence current by the con-
250
verter and injected into the fault.
200
In particular, the DC component of Ig’ recloses through
150
the FEC lower terminal and the electronic components
100 as shown in Figure 3.110.
50
Figure 3.109 - Trend of Iac1 current during a ground fault on AC in systems
with the DC negative pole grounded without ESS and PV plant and with
Isw1 [A]

0
Rg’ = 50 Ω
-50
250
-100
200
-150
150
-200
100
-250
0.4 0.45 0.5 0.55 0.6 0.65 50
t [s]
Iac1 [A]

-50

-100

-150

-200

-250
0.4 0.45 0.5 0.55 0.6 0.65
t [s]

44 Faults in LVDC microgrids with front-end converters


Figure 3.110 – AC ground fault current path without ESS and PV plant in systems with the DC negative pole grounded with Rg’ = 50 Ω

3 Fault analysis
Isw1 Isw3 Isw5

V1 I1 L R Iac1

DC Load
V2 I2 L R Iac2

V3 I3 L R Iac3

Isw2 Isw4 Isw6


Rg’
AC Load

Ig’

Because of the voltage trend (Figure 3.108) applied to control is able to maintain the DC-Bus voltage Vdc at its
the fault resistance, the fault current (Figure 3.111) has a rated value, the DC capacitors discharge current is zero.
DC component (8A) and the harmonics at switching and Even considering the IGBT block, since the ground fault
multiple switching frequency. current flows through the freewheeling diodes of the
In particular, unlike the DC load current whose values is anodic star, such current cannot be eliminated. Hence,
equal to Vdc/RL, the DC component of the fault current a suitable residual current device, able to detect ground
is equal to: fault currents with DC components, has to be installed
on AC side to interrupt such currents.
800
= = = 8 [3.16]
2∙ 2∙50

where Vdc/2 is also the average value of Vconv (Figure 3.108). 3.4.2 Low fault resistance Rg’ without ESS and
PV plant (S1=ON, S2=ON/OFF)
Figure 3.111 – Trend of Ig’ during a ground fault on AC side in systems with Considering “low fault resistances” (e.g. Rg = 50 mΩ),
the DC negative pole grounded without ESS and PV plant and Rg’ = 50 Ω
the FEC control is no longer able to maintain the Vdc at
20 the rated value (Figure 3.112).
18
Figure 3.112 - Trend of Vdc voltage during a ground fault on AC in systems
16 with the DC ngative pole grounded without ESS and PV plant and with
Rg’ = 50 mΩ
14
12 900
IgI [A]

10 800
8 700
6
600
4
500
Vdc [V]

2
0 400
0.6 0.6001 0.6002 0.6003 0.6004 0.6005 0.6006 0.6007 0.6008 0.6009 0.601
t [s] 300
As it can be seen in Figure 3.110, in the “additional load” 200
Rg’ there are the sum of the three DC current components
100
that flows in all the AC phases:
0
0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
_ _ _ = 3+2+3 = 8 [3.17] t [s]

With reference to Figure 3.112, as soon as the AC ground


As a result, the fault current DC component on AC side fault occurs (t = 0.5s), there is a sudden discharge of DC
flows not only in the faulty phase, but also in the healthy capacitors (Figure 3.113)9.
ones through the transformer windings: this may cre-
ate further problems, for example the transformer core 9
The DC component is zero, since the areas under the positive Icap values are equal to
the areas under the negative values.
saturation. With high faults resistances, since the FEC

Faults in LVDC microgrids with front-end converters 45


Technical Application Papers

As a result the Vdc drops. The Cdc discharge current flows Figure 3.115 – Trend of Ig’ during a ground fault on AC side in systems with
the DC negative pole grounded without ESS and PV plant and Rg’ = 50 mΩ
into the fault passing through the IGBT of the first leg of
3 Fault analysis

the cathodic star (Figure 3.114). 1600

When the discharge is over, the FEC works as a diode 1400


rectifier and the Vdc raises again reaching the value cor-
1200
responding to the power delivered to the DC load.
Then, a new capacitor discharge happens and the previ- 1000
ous FEC behavior occurs.

IgI [A]
800
The discharge current appears in the fault current Ig’
(Figure 3.115) and in the current Iac1 at the FEC terminal 600
of faulty phase (Figure 3.116). 400

Figure 3.113 – Trend of the DC capacitor current Icap during a ground fault 200
on AC side in systems with the DC negative pole grounded without ESS
and PV plant and with Rg’ = 50 mΩ 0
0.4 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
16000 t [s]

14000 Figure 3.116 - Trend of Iac1 during a ground fault on AC side in systems
with the DC negative pole grounded without ESS and PV plant and with
12000 Rg’ = 50 mΩ

10000 2000

8000 0

6000 -2000
Icap [A]

4000 -4000
Iac1 [A]

2000 -6000

0 -8000

-2000 -10000
0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
t [s] -12000
Figure 3.114 – Trend of Isw1 current during a ground fault on AC side in
systems with the DC negative pole grounded without ESS and PV plant -14000
and with Rg’ = 50 mΩ
-16000
16000 0.4 0.45 0.5 0.55 0.6 0.65
t [s]
14000
As Figure 3.115 shows, Ig’ still has a DC component
12000 (756A) equal to the ratio between the Vconv average value
10000 and Rg’, but now the average value of Vconv is no longer
equal to Vdc/2.
8000
In particular, such DC component of Ig’ still flows into the
6000 converter through the lower terminal and the electronic
Isw1 [A]

4000 components as shown in Figure 3.117.

2000

0.4 0.45 0.5 0.55 0.6 0.65


t [s]

46 Faults in LVDC microgrids with front-end converters


Figure 3.117 – AC ground fault current path in systems with the DC negative pole grounded without ESS and PV plant with Rg’ = 50 mΩ

3 Fault analysis
Isw1 Isw3 Isw5

V1 I1 L R Iac1

DC Load
V2 I2 L R Iac2

V3 I3 L R Iac3

Isw2 Isw4 Isw6


Rg’
AC Load

Ig’

As Figure 3.117 shows, the fault current DC component Figure 3.118b


on AC side still flows not only in the faulty phase, but also 1500

in the healthy ones through the transformer windings. The


DC component of the ground fault current is still the sum 1000
of the DC component of AC currents. With Rg’= 50 mΩ,
such sum is equal to: 500
As a result, AC currents (Figures 3.118a-c) have high
I2 [A]

distortion (not only with DC component, but also with


0
low-frequency harmonics).
_ = ( _ + + _ ) = -500
[3.18]
= ( 170 68 518) = 756
AC currents (Figures 3.118a-c) have high distortion (not -1000
0.4 0.45 0.5 0.55 0.6 0.65
only with DC component, but also with low-frequency t [s]

harmonics). Figure 3.118c


500
Figure 3.118 - Trend of AC side currents without AC load currents during
a ground fault on AC side in systems with the DC negative pole grounded
without ESS and PV plant and with Rg’ = 50 mΩ
0
Figure 3.118a

2000
-500
I3 [A]

1500

1000 -1000

500
I1 [A]

-1500
0.4 0.45 0.5 0.55 0.6 0.65
0 t [s]

-500 Even considering the embedded IGBT block, the fault


current Ig’ remains high since, despite the current in the
-1000
0.4 0.45 0.5 0.55 0.6 0.65 IGBT of the first leg of the chatodic star is interrupted, the
t [s] fault current still flows through the freewheeling diodes
of the anodic star towards the transformer windings
(Figure 3.117).

Faults in LVDC microgrids with front-end converters 47


Technical Application Papers

3.4.3 High fault resistance Rg’ with ESS and PV 3.4.4 Low fault resistance Rg’ with ESS and PV
plant (S1=OFF, S2=ON) plant (S1=ON, S2=ON/OFF)
3 Fault analysis

ESS and PV plant don’t feed the fault for high fault resist- ESS and PV plant maintain the Vdc at an higher value
ances, as it can be seen by the trend of Ig’ in Figure 3.119: (Figure 3.121).
such trend is equal to the one in Figure 3.111.
Therefore, the ground fault power is still supplied by the Figure 3.121 - Trend of Vdc voltage during a ground fault on AC in systems
with the DC negative pole grounded with ESS, PV plant and Rg’ = 50 mΩ
AC grid.
900
Nevertheless, now, the AC current at FEC terminals
decreases (Figure 3.120), since the DC load and the “ad- 800

ditional DC load” are partially fed by ESS and PV plant. 700

600
Figure 3.119 – Trend of Ig’ during a ground fault on AC side in systems with

Vdc [V]
the DC negative pole grounded with ESS, PV plant and Rg’ = 50 Ω 500

20 400
18
300
16

14 200

12 100
0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
IgI [A]

10 t [s]
8
6 In particular, like in DC fault condition with low fault re-
4 sistance, ESS and PV plant feed both the fault and the
2
load, while the FEC feeds only the fault. With reference to
0
Figure 3.122, assuming Rg’ = 50 mΩ, for the DC com-
0.6 0.6001 0.6002 0.6003 0.6004 0.6005 0.6006 0.6007 0.6008 0.6009 0.601 ponent:
t [s]

Figure 3.120 - Trend of Iac1 current during a ground fault on AC in systems 384
1 = − (− 1) = 7.1
− ( − 2104) = 2158 [3.19]
with the DC negative pole grounded with ESS, PV plant and with
Rg’ = 50 Ω

150 =− 1− 2 = − ( − 2104) − ( − 578) = 2682 [3.20]

100
As it can be seen from Figure 3.122 for low fault resist-
50
ances, the DC component of Iconvdc1 (Figure 3.123) flows
0 into the upper terminal (instead of flowing out as in the
Iac1 [A]

normal operation) in a dual manner compared to what


-50 happens in the systems with the transformer neutral point
-100
grounded where the DC component of Iconvdc2 flows out
of the lower terminal (instead of flowing into as in normal
-150 operation).
-200
0.5 0.52 0.54 0.56 0.58 0.6 0.62 0.64 0.66 0.68 0.7
t [s]

48 Faults in LVDC microgrids with front-end converters


Figure 3.122 – AC ground fault current path in systems with the DC negative pole grounded with ESS, PV plant and low fault resistance

3 Fault analysis
Iconvdc1

Isw1 Isw3 Isw5


Idc1

V1 I1 L R Iac1
Ri
DC Load PV plant
V2 I2 L R Iac2
+
PPV/Vdc
V3 I3 L R Iac3 Eo

Isw2 Isw4 Isw6


Rg’
AC Load

Ig’ Iconvdc2

Figure 3.123 – Trend of Iconvdc1 during a ground fault on AC side in systems Figure 3.125 – Trend of Idc1 during a ground fault on AC side in systems
with the DC negative pole grounded with ESS, PV plant and Rg’ = 50 mΩ with the DC negative pole grounded with ESS, PV plant and Rg’ = 50 mΩ
2000 2500

0
3000
-2000
2500
-4000
Iconvdc1 [A]

-6000 2000
Idc1 [A]

-8000
1500
-10000
1000
-12000
500
-14000

-16000 0
0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
t [s] t [s]

Figure 3.124 – Trend of Iconvdc2 during a ground fault on AC side in systems Figure 3.126 – Trend of Ig’ during a ground fault on AC side in systems
with the DC negative pole grounded with ESS, PV plant and Rg’ = 50 mΩ with the DC negative pole grounded with ESS, PV plant and Rg’ = 50 mΩ
1500 16000

14000
1000

12000
500
10000
Iconvdc2 [A]

IgI [A]

0 8000

6000
-500
4000
-1000
2000

-1500 0
0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
t [s] t [s]

Faults in LVDC microgrids with front-end converters 49


Technical Application Papers

ESS and PV plant force a current which is always positive Taking into account the IGBT block, the Isw1 is interrupted
in the IGBT of the first leg of the cathodic star (Figure preventing the ESS contribution to the ground fault cur-
3 Fault analysis

3.127). This current has such a value that jeopardizes the rent. However, such current still has a high value due to
electronic component integrity. the fault power supplied by the AC grid, similarly to what
Figure 3.127 – Trend of Isw1 during a ground fault on AC side in systems
happens when considering a passive LVDC microgrid.
with the DC negative pole grounded with ESS, PV plant and Rg’ = 50 mΩ
16000 To sum up, even in case of a ground fault on AC side,
the high fault resistance is “seen” by the FEC as an “ad-
14000
ditional DC load” to which a voltage with Vdc/2 average
12000 value is applied. For low fault resistance value, since the
10000 Vdc is no longer maintained fixed at its nominal value,
there are repetitive charge-discharge cycles of the DC
8000
capacitors that create high fault current peaks. Like in
Isw1 [A]

6000 faults on DC side, ESS and PV plant start to feed the


4000
fault when the Vdc becomes lower than a particular value
depending on the fault resistance. Nevertheless, in dual
2000
manner compared to faults on DC side, now the genera-
0 tors start to feed the fault when the current of the FEC
0.4 0.45 0.5 0.65 0.6 0.65 upper terminal becomes negative, which means that such
t [s] current flows into the terminal instead of flowing out like
in normal operation.

50 Faults in LVDC microgrids with front-end converters


4 DC fault protection – The ABB offer
The minimum operational voltage (supplied by the
The preferred method for DC fault protection is the use
dedicated low voltage measuring module PR120/LV) is
of circuit breakers: ABB offers the following types of

4 DC fault protection – The ABB offer


24V DC.
miniature circuit breakers, molded-case and air circuit
Thanks to their unique technology, the trip units type
breakers for the DC overcurrent protection of active
PR122/DC-PR123/DC allow the protection functions
LVDC microgrids10.
already available in alternating current to be carried out.
The Emax DC range maintains the same electrical and
4.1 Air circuit breakers mechanical accessories in common with the Emax range
for alternating current applications.
Air circuit breakers of Emax series comply with the Std.
IEC 60947-2 and equipped with DC electronic trip units
type PR122/DC and PR123/DC.
They have an application field ranging from 800A (with
E2) to 5000A (with E6) and breaking capacities from 35kA
to 100kA (at 500V DC).
By connecting three breaking poles in series, it is possible
to achieve the rated voltage of 750V DC, while with four 10
As regards the modality of pole connection according to the network type and to the
service voltage, please refer to the tables shown in the QT5 “ABB circuit breakers for
poles in series the limit raises to 1000V DC. direct current applications”-1SDC007104G0202.

E2 E3 E4 E6
Rated service voltage Ue [V] 1000 1000 1000 1000
Rated impulse withstand voltage Uimp [kV] 12 12 12 12
Rated insulation voltage Ui [V] 1000 1000 1000 1000
Poles [Nr.] 3/4 3/4 3/4 3/4
Rated uninterrupted curent Iu B N N H S H H
[A] 800 800
[A] 1000 1000
[A] 1250 1250
[A] 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600
[A] 2000 2000 2000
[A] 2500 2500 2500
[A] 3200 3200 3200
[A] 4000
[A] 5000
Rated short-time withstand current for (0.5s) Icw [kA]
500V DC (III) 35 50 60 65 75 100 100
750V DC (III) 25 25 40 40 65 65 65
750V DC (III) 25 40 50 50 65 65 65
1000V DC (IV) 25 25 35 40 50 65 65
Utilization category (IEC 60947-2) B B B B B B B
Isolation behaviour n n n n
Versions F-W F-W F-W F-W

Faults in LVDC microgrids with front-end converters 51


Technical Application Papers

4.2 Molded case circuit breakers


4 DC fault protection – The ABB offer

4.2.1 Tmax T molded-case circuit breakers


The molded-case circuit breakers of Tmax T series
complying with the Std. IEC 60947-2 are equipped with
thermomagnetic trip units, have breaking capacities up
to 150 kA (at 250V DC with two poles in series).
The minimum service voltage is 24V DC.
The available circuit breakers are:
– Tmax T5 and T6 equipped with thermomagnetic trip
units TMA with adjustable thermal (I1 = 0.7..1 x In) and
magnetic (I3 = 5..10xIn) thresholds.11
11
The value of the trip threshold varies according to the connection modality of the poles.
For further information please refer to the technical product catalogue.

T5 T6
Rated uninterrupted current Iu [A] 400/630 630/800/1000

Poles [Nr.] 3/4 3/4

Rated service voltage Ue [V] (DC) 750 750

Rated impulse withstand voltage Uimp [kV] 8 8

Rated insulation voltage Ui [V] 1000 1000

Test voltage at industrial frequency for 1 min. [V] 3500 3500

Rated ultimate short-circuit breaking capacity Icu N S H L V N S H L

(DC) 250V - 2 poles in series [kA] 36 50 70 100 150 36 50 70 100

(DC) 250V - 3 poles in series [kA] - - - - - - - - -

(DC) 500V - 2 poles in series [kA] 25 36 50 70 100 20 35 50 65

(DC) 500V - 3 poles in series [kA] - - - - - - - - -

(DC) 750V - 3 poles in series [kA] 16 25 36 50 70 16 20 36 50

Utilization category B (400A)(1) B (630A-800A)(2)


(IEC 60947-2) A (630A) A (1000A)

Isolation behaviour n n

Trip units: thermomagnetic

T fixed, M fixed TMF - -

T adjustable, M fixed TMD - -

T adjustable, M adjustable (5..10 x In) TMA n (up to 500A) n (up to 800A)

magnetic only MA - -

Interchangeability n n

Versions F-P-W F-W

(1)
Icw = 5kA
(2)
Icw = 7.6kA (630A) - 10kA (800A)

52 Faults in LVDC microgrids with front-end converters


4.2.2 SACE Tmax XT molded-case circuit
breakers for direct current applications

4 DC fault protection – The ABB offer


ABB offers also the new series of molded-case circuit
breakers SACE Tmax XT up to 250A.
For the protection of the DC section of PV installations
the following circuit breakers are available:
– XT1 160 and XT3 250 equipped with thermomagnetic
trip units TMD with adjustable thermal threshold (I1 =
0.7..1 x In) and fixed magnetic threshold (I3 = 10 x In);
– XT2 160 and XT4 250 equipped with thermomagnetic
trip units TMA (for In ≥ 40A) with adjustable thermal
threshold (I1 = 0.7..1 x In) and magnetic threshold I3
adjustable in the range 8..10 x In for 40A, 6..10 x In for
50A and 5..10 x In for In ≥ 63A.

XT1 XT2 XT3 XT4

Size [A] 160 160 250 160/250


Poles [Nr.] 3/4 3/4 3/4 3/4
Rated service voltage Ue [V]
(DC) 500 500 500 500
Rated impulse withstand voltage Uimp [kV] 8 8 8 8
Rated insulation
voltage Ui [V] 800 1000 800 1000
Rated ultimate short-circuit breaking capacity Icu B C N S H N S H L V N S N S H L V
(DC) 250V-2 poles in series [kA] 18 25 36 50 70 36 50 70 85 100 36 50 36 50 70 85 100
(DC) 500V-2 poles in series - - - - - - - - - - - - 36 50 70 85 100
(DC) 500V-3 poles in series [kA] 18 25 36 50 70 36 50 70 85 100 36 50 36 50 70 85 100
Utilization category (IEC 60947-2) A A A A
Isolation behaviour n n n n
Trip units: thermomagnetic

T adjustable, M fixed TMD n n (up to 32A) n n (up to 32A)


T adjustable, M adjustable TMA - n - n
magnetic only MF/MA n n n
electronic Ekip - n - n
Versions F-P F-P-W F-P F-P-W

Faults in LVDC microgrids with front-end converters 53


Technical Application Papers

4.2.3 Tmax T molded-case circuit breakers for 4.2.4 Tmax PV molded case circuit breakers
applications up to 1000V DC
4 DC fault protection – The ABB offer

Tmax PV is a series of T generation.


The panorama of the Tmax T solutions includes also the They are circuit breakers for direct current applications
circuit breakers T4, T5 and T6 for direct current applica- with high values, suitable to be installed in photovoltaic
tions up to 1000V. These circuit breakers are available in plants. They comply with both IEC as well as UL.
the three-pole and four-pole version with TMD or TMA In compliance with the Std. UL489B, Tmax PV range of-
thermomagnetic trip units. fers not only switch-disconnectors, but also automatic
These circuit breakers are available in fixed, plug-in and circuit breakers.
withdrawable version (for this the use of the 1000V fixed The connection jumpers required for Tmax PV UL ensure
parts which can be supplied by the upper terminals only simplicity and ease of use and guarantee compliance
is required) and comply with all accessories except for with the new UL standards12.
the residual current release.

T4 T5 T6 12
For wiring configurations and for further technical information please refer to the cata-
logue and to the installation instructions.
Rated uninterrupted current Iu [A] 250 400/630 630/800

Poles 4 4 4

Rated service voltage Ue [V] 1000 1000 1000

Rated impulse withstand voltage Uimp [kV] 8 8 8

Rated insulation voltage Ui [V] 1150 1150 1000

Test voltage at industrial frequency


for 1 min. [V] 3500 3500 3500

Rated ultimate short-circuit breaking


capacity Icu V(1) V(1) L(1)

(DC) 4 poles in series [kA] 40 40 50

B (400A)(2) -
Utilization category (IEC 60947-2) A A (630A) B(3)

Isolation behaviour n n n

Trip units: thermomagnetic

T adjustable, M fixed TMD n - -

T adjustable, M adjustable (5..10 x In) TMA n n n

Versions F F F(4)

(1)
Power supply only from the top
(2)
Icw = 5kA
(3)
Icw = 7.6 kA (630A) - 10kA (800A)
(4)
For T6 in the withdrawable version, please ask ABB SACE

Molded-case circuit-breakers at 1000Vdc, in compliance with
Std. UL 489B
T4N-PV T5N-PV T6N-PV
Size [A] 200 400 600-800

Rated service current [A] 40-200 225-400 600-800

Poles [No.] 3 3 4

Rated iservice voltage [V DC] 1000 1000 1000

Breaking capacity [kA] 7.5 5 10

Trip units TMD/TMA TMF/TMA TMA

Versions F F F

Standard terminals F F F

Connection Jumpers Jumpers Jumpers

54 Faults in LVDC microgrids with front-end converters


4.3 Miniature circuit breakers The following table shows the electrical characteristics of the
MBCs type S200M UC:

4 DC fault protection – The ABB offer


General Data
For the use in direct current, both miniature circuit break- Standards IEC/EN 60898-2 UL1077, CSA 22.2 No. 235
ers series S200M UC as well as series S800S UC and Poles 1P, 2P, 3P, 4P
Rated current In 0.2 -63 A
S800 PV are available.
Rated frequency f 0/50/60 Hz
Rated insulation voltage Ui 253 V AC (phase to ground), 440 V AC (phase to phase)
4.3.1 S200M UC Overvoltage Category III
Pollution Degree 3
Miniature circuit breakers series S200M UC comply with IEC/EN 60898-1
Standard CEI EN 60947-2 and differ from the standard Tripping Characteristics B, C

versions in that they are equipped with permanent Rated operational voltage Un 1P: 230 V AC, 220 V DC
2P: 400 V AC, 440 V DC
magnetic elements on the internal arcing chambers. 3...4P: 400 V AC*
Such elements allow the electric arc to be broken up to Max. power frequency recovery voltage 1P: 253 V AC, 250 V DC
Umax 2P: 440 V AC, 500 V DC
voltages equal to 440Vd.c. (for 2-pole circuit breakers). 3...4P: 440 V AC*
The presence of these permanent magnetic elements Min. operating voltage 12 V AC, 12 V DC

establishes the circuit-breaker polarity (positive or nega- Rated short-circuit capacity Icn 10 ka
Rated short-circuit capacity Icn 3
tive); as a consequence, their connection shall be car- Rated impulse withstand voltage Uimp 4 kV (test voltage 6.2 kV at sea level, 5 kV at 2,000 m)
ried out in compliance with the polarity indicated on the (1.2/50 μs)
circuit breakers. An incorrect connection of the polarities Dielectric test voltage 2.0 kV (50/60 Hz, 1 min)
Reference temperature for tripping 30 °C
could damage the circuit-breaker. Circuit breakers series characteristics
S200M UC, special version for d.c. applications, are Electrical endurance In ≤ 25 A: 20,000 ops. (AC), In > 25 A: 10,000 ops. (AC),
1,000 ops. (DC)
available with characteristics B, C, K and Z.
IEC/EN 60947-2
Tripping Characteristics B, C, K, Z
Rated operational voltage Un 1P: 253 V AC, 220 V DC
2...4P: 440 V AC, 440 V DC
Max. power frequency recovery voltage 1P: 266 V AC, 250 V DC
Umax 2...4P: 462 V AC, 500 V DC
Min. operating voltage 12 V AC, 12 V DC
Rated ultimate short-circuit breaking ≤40 A: 10 kA (AC); 10 kA (DC)
capacity Icu >40 A: 6 kA (AC); 10 kA (DC)
Rated service short-circuit breaking ≤40 A: 7,5 kA (AC); 10 kA (DC)
capacity Ics >40 A: 6 kA (AC); 10 kA (DC)
Rated impulse withstand voltage Uimp 4 kV (test voltage 6.2 kV at sea level, 5 kV at 2,000 m)
(1.2/50 μs)
Dielectric test voltage 2.0 kV (50/60 Hz, 1 min)
Reference temperature for B, C 55 °C
tripping characteristics K, Z 20 °C
Electrical endurance In < 25 A: 20,000 ops. (AC), 10,000 ops. (AC); 1,500
ops. (DC)
UL 1077 / CSA 22.2 No. 235
Tripping Characteristics C, K, Z
Rated voltage 1P: 277 V AC, 250 V DC
2...4P: 480 Y/277 V AC, 500 V DC
Rated interrupting capacity 6 kA (AC), 10 kA (DC)
Application 6 kA (AC), 10 kA (DC)
Reference temperature for tripping 25 °C
characteristic
Electrical endurance 6,000 ops. 1 cycle (1 s - ON, 9 s - OFF)
Mechanical data
Housing Insulation group I, RAL 7035
Toggle Insulation group II, black, sealable
Contact position indication Real CPI (green OFF / red ON)
Protection degree acc. to DIN EN 60529 IP20, IP40 in enclosure with cover
Mechanical endurance 20,000 ops.
Shock resistance acc. to IEC/EN 60068- 25 g, 2 shocks, 13 ms
2-27
Vibration resistance acc. to IEC/EN 60068- 5 g, 20 cycles at 5…150…5 Hz with load 0.8 In
2-6
Environmental conditions acc. to IEC/EN 28 cycles with 55 °C/90-96 % and 25 °C/95-100 %
60068-2-30
Ambient temperature -25 ... +55 °C
Storage temperature -40 ... +70 °C

*Only acc. to IEC/EN 60898-1

Faults in LVDC microgrids with front-end converters 55


Technical Application Papers

4.3.2 S800S UC
4 DC fault protection – The ABB offer

Unlike S200M UC, the miniature circuit breakers series


S800S UC can be connected without respect of the
polarity (+/-).
For the circuit breakers series S800S UC the available
characteristic curves are B and K and both typologies
have rated currents up to 125A and breaking capacity
of 50kA.

The following table shows the electrical characteristics of the MCBs type S800S UC:

S800S UC

Reference Standard IEC 60947-2

Rated current In [A] 10…125

Poles 1, 2, 3, 4

Rated voltage Ue d.c./poles [V] 250

Max. operating voltage Ub max d.c./poles 250

Insulation voltage Ui d.c./poles [V] 250

Rated impulse voltage Uimp d.c./poles [kV] 8

Rated ultimate short-circuit breaking capacity Icu IEC 60947-2 [kA] 50

Rated service short-circuit breaking capacity Ics IEC 60947-2 [kA] 50

Suitable for isolation in compliance with CEI EN 60947-2 [kA] 3

Characteristics of the thermomagnetic release B: 4In< Im < 7 In n

K: 7In< Im < 14 In n

56 Faults in LVDC microgrids with front-end converters


4.3.3 S800 PV

4 DC fault protection – The ABB offer


The series of products S800 PV includes devices suitable
to be used in DC circuits with high voltages, typical of
photovoltaic plants (in the connection section between
panels and inverter).
The S800PV-S providing maximum safety even in the
event of reverse polarisation, the S800PV-S series of-
fers high permormance in a compact design. The inter-
changeable terminals (ring lugs or cage terminals) make
the system even more convenient. In addition, busbar
are available for fast and easy serial pole connection.

The following table shows the electrical characteristics of the MCBs and switch-disconnectors of the series S800 PV

S800 PV-S S800 PV-M S800 PV-M-H S804U-PVS


Reference standard IEC / EN 60947-2 IEC / EN 60947-3 IEC / EN 60947-3 UL489B
Rated current , In [A] 10 … 125 32, 63, 125 32, 63, 100 5
Poles 2…4 2…4 2 (polarised) 4
Rated operational 2 poles (dc) [V] 800 (In=10…80A); 600 800 1000 -
voltage, Ue (In=100…125A)
3 poles (dc) [V] 1200 (In=10…80A); 1000 1200 - -
(In=100…125A)
4 poles (dc) [V] 1200 1200 - 1000
Rated insulation voltage, Ui [V] 1500 1500 1500 1500
Rated impulse withstand voltage, Uimp [kV] 8 8 8 8
Rated ultimate short-circuit current, Icu [kA] 5 - - -
Rated service breaking capacity, Ics [kA] 5 - - -
Rated short-time withstand current, Icw [kA] - 1.5 1.5 -
Rated short-circuit making capacity, Icm [kA] - 0.5 0.5 -
Rated short-circuit current UL489B [kA] - - - 3
Utilization category DC21-A DC21-A

Faults in LVDC microgrids with front-end converters 57


Technical Application Papers

Annex A: Description of the main


power-electronic-switches
A.1 GTO (Gate Turn-Off thyristor) The main design goal for GTOs has always been to
Annex A: Description of the main power-electronic-switches

achieve a maximum current turn off capability with a


A GTO is a special type of thyristor, which is a high-power minimum gate current requirement.
semiconductor device. GTOs, as opposed to normal The ratio of the two currents is referred to as the turn
thyristors, are fully controllable switches which can be off gain.
turned on and off by their gate (Figure A.1). Unfortunately, a higher turn off gain generally results in
a poor scaling of the maximum turn off current with the
Figure A.1 – Circuit symbol and equivalent circuit of a GTO area of the GTO, thereby setting certain economic limits
to the device size.
IA GTO thyristors suffer from long switch off times, whereby,
after the forward current falls, there is a long tail time
where residual current continues to flow until all remain-
ing charges from the device are taken away.
This restricts the maximum switching frequency to ap-
IG prox. 1 kHz: this limitation has very unfavorable con-
Ik sequences in DC/AC converters, since a low switching
frequency leads to an high content of undesired harmon-
ics in the AC signal. It may be noted however, that the
Normal thyristors (silicon-controlled rectifiers) are not turn off time of a GTO is approximately ten times faster
fully controllable switches (a "fully controllable switch" than of a comparable SCR.
can be turned on and off at will). A further disadvantage of the GTO is the fact that the
Thyristors can only be turned ON and cannot be turned device must always be equipped with expensive and
OFF. Thyristors are switched ON by a gate signal, but bulky protection circuit.
even after the gate signal has been de-asserted (re- GTO thyristors usually consist of a large number (hun-
moved), the thyristor remains in the ON-state until any dreds or thousands) of small thyristor cells connected
turn off condition occurs (which can be the application in parallel.
of a reverse voltage to the terminals, or when the current A distributed buffer gate turn-off thyristor (DB-GTO) is
flowing through (forward current) falls below a certain a thyristor with additional PN layers in the drift region to
threshold value known as the "holding current"). Thus, reshape the field profile and increase the voltage blocked
a thyristor behaves like a normal semiconductor diode in the off state. Compared to a typical PN-PN structure
after it has been turned on or "fired". of a conventional thyristor, this thyristor would be a PN-
The GTO can be turned-on by a gate signal, and can PN-PN type structure.
also be turned-off by a gate signal of negative polarity. GTO thyristors are available with or without reverse
The main feature that differentiates the GTO from a blocking capability. Reverse blocking capability adds to
normal thyristor is a special gate arrangement, which the forward voltage drop because of the need to have
enables the interruption of the load current at any desired a long, low doped P1 region. GTO thyristors capable of
time by applying a negative current to the gate. Hence, blocking reverse voltage are known as Symmetrical GTO
in contrast to the thyristor, the GTO can be operated as thyristors (abbreviated S-GTO).
a true on/off switch [2]. Usually, the reverse blocking voltage rating and forward
Turning on in the GTO is accomplished by a "positive blocking voltage rating are the same. The typical ap-
current" pulse between the gate and cathode terminals. plication for symmetrical GTO thyristors is in current
As the gate-cathode behaves like a PN junction, there will source inverters.
be some relatively small voltage between the terminals. GTO thyristors incapable of blocking reverse voltage are
The turning on phenomenon in a GTO however is, not known as Asymmetrical GTO thyristors (abbreviated A-
as reliable as in an SCR (thyristor) and small positive GTO), and are generally more common than Symmetrical
gate current must be maintained even after turn on to GTO thyristors.
improve reliability. They typically have a reverse breakdown rating in the
Turning off is accomplished by a "negative voltage" pulse tens of volts.
between the gate and cathode terminals. Some of the A-GTO thyristors are used where either a reverse con-
forward current (about one-third to one-fifth) is "stolen" ducting diode is applied in parallel (for example, in voltage
and used to induce a cathodegate voltage that in turn, source inverters) or where reverse voltage would never
induces the forward current to fall and the GTO will switch occur (for example, in switching power supplies or DC
off (transitioning to the 'blocking' state). traction choppers).

58 Faults in LVDC microgrids with front-end converters


GTO thyristors can be fabricated with a reverse conduct- the high-current and low-saturation-voltage capability
of bipolar transistors (Figure A.2). The IGBT combines

Annex A: Description of the main power-electronic-switches


ing diode in the same package.
These are known as RC-GTO, for Reverse Conducting an isolated gate FET for the control input, and a bipolar
GTO. power transistor as a switch, in a single device. The IGBT
Unlike insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBT), GTO is used in medium- to high-power applications such as
thyristors require external devices ("snubber circuits") switched-mode power supplies, traction motor control
to shape the turn on and turn off currents to prevent and induction heating. Large IGBT modules typically
device damages. consist of many devices in parallel and can have very high
During turning on, the device has a maximum dI/dt rating current handling capabilities in the order of hundreds of
limiting the rise of current. amperes with blocking voltages of 6000 V, equating to
This is to allow the entire bulk of the device to reach turn hundreds of kilowatts.
on status before the full current is reached. Figure A.2 – Circuit symbol and equivalent circuit of an IGBT
If this rating is exceeded, the area of the device near-
Collector
est the gate contacts will overheat and melt because of
overcurrent. C Drift region
The rate of dI/dt is usually controlled by adding a satu-
rable reactor (turn-on snubber), although turn-on dI/dt
Gate Parasitic
is a less serious constraint with GTO thyristors than it is G transistor
with normal thyristors, because of the way the GTO is
constructed from many small thyristor cells in parallel. E
Reset of the saturable reactor usually places a minimum Body region
off time requirement on GTO based circuits. Emitter
During turn off, the forward voltage of the device must
be limited until the current tails off.
The limit is usually around 20% of the forward blocking The IGBT is a fairly recent invention. The first-generation
voltage rating. If the voltage rises too fast at turning off, devices of the 1980s and early 1990s were relatively slow
not all of the device will turn off and the GTO will fail, often in switching, and prone to failure through such modes as
explosively, due to the high voltage and current focused latchup (in which the device will not turn off as long as the
on a small portion of the device. Substantial snubber current is flowing) and secondary breakdown (in which a
circuits are added around the device to limit the rise of localized hotspot in the device goes into thermal runaway
voltage at turning off. and burns the device out at high currents).
Resetting the snubber circuit usually places a minimum Second-generation devices were much improved, and
on time requirement on GTO based circuits. the current third-generation ones are even better, with
The minimum on and off time is handled in DC motor speed rivaling MOSFETs, and excellent ruggedness and
chopper circuits by using a variable switching frequency tolerance of overloads.
at the lowest and highest duty cycle. The extremely high pulse ratings of second- and third-
This is observable in traction applications where the generation devices also make them useful for generating
frequency will ramp up as the motor starts, then the fre- large power pulses in areas like particle and plasma phys-
quency stays constant over most of the speed ranges, ics, where they are starting to supersede older devices
then the frequency drops back down to zero at full speed. like thyratrons and triggered spark gaps.
The success of the IGBT is due to several features:
A.2 IGBT (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor) – high input impedance, resulting in small and inexpen-
sive gate driver circuits;
The IGBT is a three-terminal power semiconductor de- – no need to employ snubber circuits as with GTOs;
vice primarily used as an electronic switch and in newer – capability of surviving a short circuit for a certain limited
devices if is noted for combining high efficiency and fast period of time;
switching. – advantageous balance between conduction losses and
It switches electric power in many modern appliances: switching losses, which allows the IGBT to be used
Variable-Frequency Drives (VFDs), electric cars, trains, economically over a wide range of switching frequen-
variable speed refrigerators, airconditioners and even cies;
stereo systems with switching amplifiers. The IGBT com- – good scalability, such as a proportional relationship
bines the simple gate-drive characteristics of MOSFETs between the useful current and the area of the com-
(Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor) with ponent.

Faults in LVDC microgrids with front-end converters 59


Technical Application Papers

The IGBT is a semiconductor device with four alternating By contrast, the IGBT has a diode like voltage drop
layers (P-N-P-N) that are controlled by a metal-oxide- (typically of the order of 2V) increasing only with the
Annex A: Description of the main power-electronic-switches

semiconductor (MOS) gate structure without regenera- log of the current.


tive action. Additionally, MOSFET resistance is typically lower for
An IGBT cell is constructed similarly to a n-channel verti- smaller blocking voltages, meaning that the choice
cal construction power MOSFET except the n+ drain is between IGBTs and power MOSFETS depends on
replaced with a p+ collector layer, thus forming a vertical both the blocking voltage and current involved in a
PNP bipolar junction transistor. particular application, as well as the different switching
This additional p+ region creates a cascade connection characteristics mentioned above.
of a PNP bipolar junction transistor with the surface n- In general, high voltage, high current and low switching
channel MOSFET. frequencies favor IGBTs while low voltage, low current
An IGBT has a significantly lower forward voltage drop and high switching frequencies are the domain of the
compared to a conventional MOSFET in higher blocking MOSFET.
voltage rated devices. As the blocking voltage rating of
both MOSFET and IGBT devices increases, the depth of
the n- drift region must increase and the doping must de- A.3 IGCT (Integrated Gate Commutated Thyristor)
crease, resulting in roughly square relationship decrease
in forward conduction vs. blocking voltage capability of The IGCT is a power semiconductor electronic device,
the device. used for switching electric current in industrial equip-
By injecting minority carriers (holes) from the collector ment. It is related to the gate turn-off (GTO) thyristor. It
p+ region into the n- drift region during forward conduc- was jointly developed by Mitsubishi and ABB.
tion, the resistance of the n- drift region is considerably Like the GTO thyristor, the IGCT is a fully controllable
reduced. power switch, meaning that it can be turned both on and
However, this resultant reduction in on-state forward off by its control terminal (the gate).
voltage comes with several penalties: Gate drive electronics are integrated with the thyristor
– the additional PN junction blocks reverse current flow. device. An IGCT is a special type of thyristor similar to
This means that unlike a MOSFET, IGBTs cannot con- a GTO. They can be turned on and off by a gate signal,
duct in the reverse direction. have lower conduction loss as compared to GTOs, and
In bridge circuits where reverse current flow is needed, withstand higher rates of voltage rise (dv/dt), such that
an additional diode (called a freewheeling diode) is no snubber is required for most applications.
placed in parallel with the IGBT to conduct current in The structure of an IGCT is very similar to a GTO thyris-
the opposite direction. tor. In an IGCT, the gate turn off current is greater than
The penalty is not as severe as first assumed though, the anode current.
because at the higher voltages where IGBT usage This results in a complete elimination of minority carrier
dominates, discrete diodes are of significantly higher injection from the lower PN junction and faster turn off
performance than the body diode of a MOSFET; times.
– the reverse bias rating of the N-drift region to collector The main difference is a reduction in cell size, plus a
P+ diode is usually only of tens of volts, so if the circuit much more substantial gate connection with much lower
application applies a reverse voltage to the IGBT, an inductance in the gate drive circuit and drive circuit con-
additional series diode must be used; nection.
– the minority carriers injected into the N-drift region take The very high gate currents plus fast dI/dt rise of the
time to enter and exit or recombine at turn on and turn gate current means that regular wires can not be used
off. This results in longer switching time and hence to connect the gate drive to the IGCT.
higher switching loss compared to a power MOSFET; The drive circuit PCB is integrated into the package of the
– the on-state forward voltage drop in IGBTs behaves device. The drive circuit surrounds the device and a large
very differently to that in power MOSFETS. circular conductor attaching to the edge of the IGCT is
The MOSFET voltage drop can be modeled as a resist-
ance, with the voltage drop proportional to current.

60 Faults in LVDC microgrids with front-end converters


used. The large contact area and short distance reduces By optimally integrating commercial GTOs and MOS-
both the inductance and resistance of the connection. FETs, the ETO has the advantages of fast switching

Annex A: Description of the main power-electronic-switches


speed, snubberless turn-off capability, voltage control,
Figure A.3 – Circuit symbol and equivalent circuit of an IGCT
and built-in current sensing capabilities.
Anode
An ETO is formed by integrating a GTO in series with an
G Gate
GTO emitter switch QE. A gate switch QG is also connected
to the GTO gate, as shown in Figure A.4.
Figure A.4 – Circuit symbol and equivalent circuit of an ETO
A K Gate
Anode Cathode Anode
Cathode Anode
GTO
IGCT much faster turn-off times compared to GTO allows
them to operate at higher frequencies—up to several
kHz for very short periods of time. However, because of
high switching losses, the typical operating frequency is Gate1
up to 500 Hz. IGCT are available with or without reverse Gate QG QE
blocking capability. Reverse blocking capability adds to Driver Gate2
the forward voltage drop because of the need to have Gate3
a long, low doped P1 region. IGCT capable of blocking Cathode
reverse voltage are known as symmetrical IGCT, abbrevi- Cathode

ated S-IGCT.
Usually, the reverse blocking voltage rating and forward During a normal forced turn-off transient, QE is turned
blocking voltage rating are the same. The typical applica- off and QG is turned on.
tion for symmetrical IGCT is in current source inverters. The turn-off of the emitter switch QE cuts off the GTO’s
IGCT incapable of blocking reverse voltage are known cathode current path, and all of the cathode currents are
as asymmetrical IGCT, abbreviated A-IGCT. quickly transferred to the gate path.
They typically have a reverse breakdown rating in the In this way, the latch-up mechanism of the GTO is bro-
tens of volt. A-IGCTs are used where either a reverse ken and the ETO is turned off under a unity-gain turn-off
conducting diode is applied in parallel (for example, in condition (also known as a hard driven turn-off condition).
voltage source inverters) or where reverse voltage would Therefore, the ETO has a wide reverse biased safe op-
never occur (for example, in switching power supplies eration area (RBSOA) and snuberless turn-off capability.
or DC traction choppers). Asymmetrical IGCTs can be In real applications, a dv/dt turn-off snubber is usually
fabricated with a reverse conducting diode in the same applied to reduce the device turn-off loss and to improve
package. its reliability.
These are known as RC-IGCTs, for reverse conducting With a dv/dt snubber, compared to the snubberless case,
IGCTs. Moreover, IGCTs capable of blocking reverse the ETO has a lower storage time and current fall time
voltage are known as reverse blocking IGCTs (symmetri- since the device current starts to drop once the anode
cal IGCTs), abbreviated RB-IGCT. Usually, the reverse voltage begins to rise.
blocking voltage rating and forward blocking voltage During the turn-on transient, QE is turned on and QG is
rating are the same. turned off. A high-current pulse is injected into the GTO
gate by the integrated gate driver in order to reduce
the turn-on delay time and to improve the turn-on di/dt
rating. The built-in PNP and NPN transistors inside the
A.4 ETO (Emitter Turn-Off thyristor) GTO latch up quickly and the anode voltage of the ETO
collapses to a low voltage. So the turn-on process of the
Based on the integration of the GTO thyristor and power ETO is similar to that of a GTO.
MOSFET technology, the emitter turn-off (ETO) thyristor Thanks to the ETO compact structure and low gate loop
is a new type of superior high-power semiconductor inductance (about 10 nH), a gate current pulse with high
device that is suitable for use in high-frequency and amplitude and rise rate can be applied; therefore an ETO
high-power converters. can be uniformly turned on without current crowding
problems.

Faults in LVDC microgrids with front-end converters 61


Technical Application Papers

Annex B: Switch-mode three-phase converters

The input/output to switch-mode converter is assumed to The harmonic spectrum of the phase voltage (vf ) shows
be a DC-voltage source, so such converters are referred three items of importance:
Annex B: Switch-mode three-phase converters

to as voltage-source converters (VSCs). VSCs can be – the peak amplitude of the fundamental frequency
split into two macro-categories: component is [1]:
– Pulse-Witdh Modulated (PWM) – in these converters, vˆ c . Vdc V
the DC voltage is kept constant in magnitude, so the vˆ f 1 = = ma . dc (ma ≤ 1) [B.3]
vˆ t 2 2
converter controls the magnitude and the frequency of
the AC voltages. This is met by PWM of the converter – the harmonics in the voltage waveform appear as side-
switches and hence such converters are called PWM bands centered around fsw and its multiples
converters. There are various schemes to pulse-width – choosing mf as an odd integer, only the coefficients
modulate the inverter switches so as to shape the AC of the sine series in the Fourier analysis are finite and
voltage to be as close to a sine wave as possible only odd harmonics are present.
– Square-Wave – in these converters, the DC voltage Because of the relative ease in filtering harmonic volt-
is controlled in order to control the magnitude of the ages at high frequencies, it is desiderable to use as
AC voltage, so the converter has to control only the high a switching frequency as possible, except for one
frequency of the AC voltage, whose waveform is similar significant drawback: switching losses in the inverter
to a square wave and hence these converters are called switches increase proportionally with the switching
square-wave converters. frequency. Hence, in most applications, the switching
frequency is up to 20 kHz.
B.1 Pulse Width Modulated (PWM) switching With reference to the value of ma, two behavior modes
mode may occur:
– linear modulation (ma ≤ 1), in which the fundamental
frequency component in the output voltage varies
In a PWM control, so as to produce a sinusoidal AC
linearly with ma.
voltage waveform at a desired frequency, a sinusoidal
Therefore, the line-to-line rms voltage at the fundamen-
control signal (vc) at the desired frequency is compared
tal frequency can be written as:
with a triangular waveform (vt).
The frequency of the triangular waveform establishes the 3 . . Vdc 1.63. vl
vl = ma 0.612. ma. Vdc (ma ≤ 1) -> Vdc [B.4]
switching frequency (fsw) and is generally kept constant 2 2 ma
with its amplitude.
– overmodulation (ma > 1), in which the peak of the
The control signal is used to modulate the switch duty
control voltage exceeds the peak of the triangular
ratio and has a frequency (f1), which is the desired fun-
waveform. In this mode of operation the fundamental
damental frequency of the inverter voltage output.
frequency voltage does not increase proportionally
The amplitude modulation ratio (ma) is defined as the
with ma and for sufficiently large value of ma, the PWM
ratio between the peak amplitude of the control signal
degenerates into a square-wave inverter waveform.
and the amplitude of the triangular signal (which is usu-
This results in the maximum value of the line-to-line
ally kept constant):
rms voltage equal to:
vˆ c
ma = [B.1] 3 . 4 . Vdc 6.
vˆ t vl = = V 0.78. Vdc -> Vdc 1.28. vl [B.5]
2 π 2 π dc
The frequency modulation ration (mf) is defined as the
ration between the switching frequency and the funda- In overmodulation more sideband harmonics appear
mental frequency: centered around the frequency of harmonic mf and its
multiples. However, the dominant harmonics may not
f sw
mf = [B.2] have as large an amplitude as with ma ≤ 1.
f1

62 Faults in LVDC microgrids with front-end converters


B.2 Square-Wave switching mode a proportional-integral (PI) regulator.
The output control voltage of the amplifier is compared

Annex B: Switch-mode three-phase converters


It should be noted that the square-wave switching is also with a fixed frequency (switching frequency) triangu-
a special case of the sinusoidal PWM switching when lar waveform. A positive error and, hence, a positive
ma becomes so large that the control voltage waveform voltage control results in a larger inverter AC voltage,
intersects with the triangular waveform. thus bringing the actual current to its reference value.
One of the advantages of the square-wave operation is Similar action occurs in the other two phases.
that each inverter switch changes its state only twice per In the rectifier mode of operation of the converter the
cycle, which is important at very high power levels where amplitude of the reference current should be such as
the solid-state switches generally have slower turn-on to maintain the DC voltage at a desired or reference
and turn-off speeds. value Vdc, in spite of the variation of several DC loads.
One of the serious disadvantages of this switching mode
is that the inverter is not capable of regulating the AC
voltage magnitude. B.4 Bidirectional power flow
Therefore, the DC voltage to the inverter must be ad-
justed so as to control the magnitude of the AC voltage. In a single-phase converter (but the analysis may be ex-
The line-to-line voltage waveform contains harmonics tended to a three-phase converter remaining valid) with a
(h=6n±1; n=1,2,…), whose amplitudes decrease inversely rectifier mode of operation, the following formula is valid:
proportional to their harmonic order:
dis
vs = vconv + vl = vconv + Ls [B.7]
0.78 . dt
vl = Vdc [B.6]
h Assuming vs to be sinusoidal, the fundamental frequency
components of vconv and vs can be expressed as phasors
B.3 Current regulated modulation and conv :

There are various ways to obtain the switching signals for [B.8]
the converter switches in order to control the AC current.
The real power P and the reactive power Q supplied by
Two of such methods are:
the source to the converter are [1]:
– tolerance band control – the actual phase current is
compared with a sinusoidal reference current with the [B.9]
tolerance band around the reference current associated
with that phase.
If the actual current tries to go beyond the upper tol- [B.10]
erance band, the lower inverter switch of the actual
inverter leg is turned on whereas the upper inverter From these equations it is clear that for a given line volt-
switch is turned off. age and inductance Ls, desired values of P and Q can
Similar actions take place in the other two phases. The be obtained by controlling the magnitude and phase of
switching frequency depends on how fast the current conv
. In particular, the magnitude of conv can be varied
changes from the upper to the lower limit and vice by controlling the amplitude of the sinusoidal reference
versa. waveform vc, whereas the phase of conv can be varied
Moreover, the switching frequency does not remain by shifting the phase of vc.
constant but varies along the current waveform. Hence, the magnitude and direction of power flow are
– fixed frequency control – the error between the refer- automatically controlled by regulating Vdc at its desired
ence and the actual current is amplified or fed through value.

Faults in LVDC microgrids with front-end converters 63


Technical Application Papers

Annex C: DC fault contribution of other types of


converters
Hereunder several types of interface converters between C.2 AC/DC interface converter for Gen-sets or
the DC-Bus and DC/AC loads, ESS, renewable sources wind power plants
Annex C: DC fault contribution of other types of converters

and gensets are analyzed from their DC fault contribution


point of view. Since the converters are connected on one
In case of a DC fault, besides the capacitor discharge, the
side to the LVDC microgrid, they have at their terminals
converter behaves in similar manner of what analyzed in
the LVDC microgrid voltage.
Chapter 2, but now the short circuit power on AC side is
This means that, in the absence of a separation trans-
limited to the usual one supplied by an alternator.
former, the terminals of a generator or an ESS are isolated
from the ground. For example, if a MV/LV transformer with Figure C.2 – AC/DC interface converter for Gen-sets or wind power plants
the star point connected to the ground is considered,
another connection to the ground of an active part, e.g.
L
a PV plant or ESS terminal, creates a double active part
L LVDC
ground connection with an unwanted trip of the residual G C
3 L Migrogrid
current devices installed on AC side.
As a consequence, even a ground fault in the LVDC
microgrid is seen by each converter as a short circuit at
its DC terminals.

C.1 DC/AC interface converter for AC loads

This converter feeds those loads that require mandatorily


an AC supply. A DC fault causes firstly the capacitor
discharge current.
This capacitor is usually installed in most converters.
Instead, the converter current contribution is negligible
whether the loads are passive or it is limited at maximum
the transient short circuit current fed by motors.

Figure C.1 – DC/AC interface converter for AC loads

L
L LVDC
M C
3 L Migrogrid

64 Faults in LVDC microgrids with front-end converters


C.3 DC/DC interface converter for PV plants C.4 DC/DC interface converter for ESSs

Annex C: DC fault contribution of other types of converters


This DC/DC converter has the double task of both to The configuration of this DC/DC converter is the revers-
allow the PV plant to work at its own maximum power ible one (Figure C.4), since it has to perform the double
point and to adapt the DC array voltage to the DC-Bus task to recharge and maintain the ESS charged and, when
voltage. With the common ratio between these voltages, necessary, to allow the power flow toward the DC-Bus.
usually the boost (step-up) converter configuration is In case of a DC fault, a situation similar to that in Section
used for medium-high power applications. C.3 occurs, because the presence of the freewheeling
In case of a DC fault, this converter supplies firstly a diode D1 allows the DC fault ESS contribution without
peak current due to the DC capacitor discharge, then any control by the converter.
the boost converter continues to feed the fault with the
whole available PV plant short circuit current (equal to Figure C.4 – DC/DC reversible interface converter between the ESS and
the LVDC microgrid
1.25 times the maximum current in standard conditions).
It is important to note that this type of converter is not L
able to limit such current, since in this situation the short
circuit current flows through the diode D1 in series (Figure D1 LVDC
ESS D2 C Migrogrid
C.3) without any possible action by the converter control.

Figure C.3 – DC/DC interface converter between the PV plant and the
LVDC microgrid

L D1

LVDC
PV plant Cin D2 Cout Migrogrid

Faults in LVDC microgrids with front-end converters 65


Technical Application Papers
QT1 QT8
Low voltage selectivity with ABB circuit-breakers Power factor correction and harmonic filtering in
electrical plants

QT2 QT9
MV/LV trasformer substations: theory and exam- Bus communication with ABB circuit-breakers
ples of short-circuit calculation

QT3 QT10
Distribution systems and protection against indi- Photovoltaic plants
rect contact and earth fault

QT4 QT11
ABB circuit-breakers inside LV switchboards Guidelines to the construction of a low-voltage
assembly complying with the Standards IEC 61439
Part 1 and Part 2

QT5 QT12
ABB circuit-breakers for direct current Generalities on naval systems and installations
applications on board

QT6 QT13
Arc-proof low voltage switchgear and controlgear Wind power plants
assemblies

QT7 QT14
Three-phase asynchronous motors Faults in LVDC microgrids with front-end
Generalities and ABB proposals for the coordina- converters
tion of protective devices
ABB SACE The data and illustrations are not binding. We reserve

1SDC007113G0201 - 06/2015
the right to modify the contents of this document on
A division of ABB S.p.A. the basis of technical development of the products,
L.V. Breakers without prior notice.
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Tel.: +39 035 395 111
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